Waiting And Wanting
by AthenaNikePallas
Summary: Nathan and Haley have been friends for a long time. Even though he values her friendship, Nathan wants more from Haley than she can begin to realize.
1. Chapter 1 Wedding Day

**Chapter 1 Wedding Day**

_December 20, 2013_

Haley stood in a small room on the second floor of a church getting ready for her wedding. She smoothed one last hair into place as she looked at herself in the mirror. The wedding dress that she was wearing was exquisite and fit her perfectly. It was a strapless mermaid gown made out of silk taffeta with a rouched bodice and a bubble hem. Brooke had done an amazing job—even though they'd fought like snarling pumas over how it should look. Eventually she'd won out because it was _her_ day dammit, and for at least twenty-four hours things were going to be done the Haley James way and not the Brooke Davis way.

Speak of the devil. "Haley!" Brooke burst into the room, breathless and wild-eyed. "The caterer is finally here and so is the DJ. Don't worry about a thing, everything's fine and I ripped that French bastard a new one for being a whole hour late. What are the guests supposed to eat if he's not here? Some goddamn pigs-in-a-blanket? Pizza rolls?"

"Calm down. I'm supposed to be the one who's panicking." Haley couldn't have looked more serene if she tried.

Brooke felt herself relax. "Well, no matter what goes wrong with what I think might be the most cursed wedding ever—at least you know you're marrying the love of your life."

Haley felt a little teary. "Yeah. I can't believe that this day is finally here, you know?"

"Are you nervous?"

"No." Haley grinned. "I've never felt better."

Brooke smiled and held Haley's bouquet out to her. "Let's get down there then, Tutor Wife. All the guests are here and everything's ready."

Haley gave Brooke a brave smile and they stepped out of the room together.

* * *

Downstairs Nathan adjusted his tie again and again. Lucas saw how anxious he was and clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

"Relax, man. You're beginning to make me feel nervous."

"I just can't believe that today's the day," Nathan said. He felt like he should go sit down before he passed out.

"I don't either little brother. I have to say that I'm a little upset that I'm not the best man, you know."

"Lucas," Nathan grinned, "I really had no say in it. You know I don't control who's picked for the wedding party."

His brother snorted. "Don't think I didn't notice your part in it though."

"Hey, if you could've been the maid of honor I'm sure Haley would have made you one. It's not too late to ask one of her sisters to step down and give you the privilege."

Lucas dismissed that idea, flapping an irritated hand in the air. "I would have made a great best man; you're the one who probably demoted me."

"Look, being a groomsman is an important part, you should feel . . . special."

"Whatever." Lucas fell silent as the Wedding March started up and he took his place behind Nathan.

Haley appeared at the end of the aisle with her father and Nathan had to fight for air. She was beautiful. Luminous. As he watched her near the altar he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

As she made her way up the steps she turned her head and smiled at Lucas and then at him. She kissed her father on the cheek and made her way up the stairs alone to stand before the minister. Father Preston smiled at Haley fondly and raised his voice so that the congregation could hear him.

"We are here today to honor the union of Haley Elizabeth James and Mark Ascot Fowell . . ."

The rest of the man's words buzzed into silence as Nathan looked on; he kept a pleasant expression pasted to his face while his heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest. He couldn't pretend anymore that Haley was his or that she would suddenly be struck by how much she wanted him so that they could run out of this church together. She didn't love him. She didn't even see him. She was marrying another man.

* * *

Nathan sat by himself, nursing his beer, while everyone around him had an incredible time. It had been a beautiful wedding, the reception was rolling with laughter and dancing, and right now the only thing that he wanted to do was to crawl into bed and never come out. 

He was about to slip away when Mark appeared behind him.

"Nathan, I just wanted to say thanks for standing as my best man today."

"No problem, Mark." Nathan forced himself to keep his tone civil. "I know your brother must feel terrible about having to miss the wedding."

"I told him not to eat at that restaurant downtown but he just had to try the shrimp cocktail." Mark grinned. "Did you know that Hallmark actually has get-well-soon cards for people with food poisoning? I'm sending him one with a big piece of cake."

"Lucky him." Nathan's smile didn't reach his eyes. "You know, I'm not feeling all that well either, I think I might make it an early night."

"Are you sure? It's not even eight yet."

"Yeah, I've got practice starting up in a couple days anyway and I'd rather head this flu off at the pass."

"Sure." Mark shook his hand firmly. "Thanks for coming, Haley and I really appreciate it."

Nathan had shrugged into his coat and turned towards the exit when a hand grabbed his arm from behind.

"Where do you think you're going, Heartbreaker?"

Nathan turned around with a warm look in his eyes. "Haley."

"Mark told me that you're not feeling well." Haley stood up on her tiptoes to search his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, I just have that feeling you get right before you get sick."

"Okay. Go home and feel better." Haley hugged him tightly and he squeezed her back hard, lifting her completely off the ground and making her laugh. "I'll see you when I get back."

Nathan's smile wavered. "Have fun in India. I'm sure you'll both have an amazing time."

Haley stepped back and was swallowed up by the party. Nathan watched her go and said good-bye to her again, silently, before pulling on his gloves and stepping out into the cold.

He shut his car door and started the ignition, waiting for the engine to warm up. Half an hour later he found himself staring at the dashboard blankly. He felt lost, like he didn't know where to go or what to do. He wanted to scream or cry or hit something but he could do none of those things. He just sat and watched the snow fall as he felt a coldness seep through his veins. Haley was married to Mark. Married. Maybe if he repeated that thought enough he could start to believe it.

His cell rang and he picked up. "Hello?"

"Nathan, it's me."

"Tim? Hey, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you could hang out tonight."

"Aren't you in Washington?"

"No, business finished up sooner than I thought so I'm back in town."

"Haley's wedding is tonight."

"What, are you still there?"

"No, I just left."

"So, come on over. I've got booze and I don't feel like drinking it alone."

"Why not?" Nathan shrugged.

* * *

"So, how are you holding up?" 

"What are you talking about, Tim?"

"How are you dealing with Haley being married?"

"She's happy, it's great. Mark's really great for her. It's great."

Tim looked at him evenly. "I hope that when the love of my life marries another guy I can take it as well as you have."

Nathan's head snapped around. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"How long have I known you, Nathan? You're so obvious that I'm really shocked the rest of your family doesn't see it. You've been an idiot over Haley for as long as I can remember. And don't give me that 'Mark is a good guy' crap. You fucking hate him."

"Mark is an okay guy, he's successful, loves Haley," Nathan took a swig of his beer, "and I fucking hate him."

Tim opened two more beers and passed one to his friend. "Let it out, man."

"I've loved her since before I can remember and now she's with someone else." Nathan's hand gripped the bottle hard. "It's real."

"I'm sorry."

He fell back onto the couch cushions, slouching low. "How did you know that I . . ."

"It's like I said. You're completely obvious."

Nathan was silent.

"So you didn't try and stop her?" Tim asked.

"Stop her? And tell her what? 'Haley, I've wanted to be with you since I was in junior high—even though you've never seen me as anything other than your friend's kid brother. Would you mind dumping your rich and successful fiancé to be with me?'"

Tim blinked. "Maybe you shouldn't put it like that."

"Wake up. Why would Haley ever leave Mark? He's perfect."

"Nobody's perfect. It's a shame. Sometimes when I see you and Haley together I can picture the two of you having something."

"Really?" Nathan perked up briefly but then slid back down. "What the hell am I thinking? She got married today and you're talking to me about how we look like we could be a couple. Come on."

"I'm sorry," Tim said again.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I just wish that things were different."

Nathan drank down the rest of his beer, hiccupping slightly before repositioning himself on the couch so he could lie down and close his eyes.

He'd been preparing for this day for months and now that it was finally over the cold reality of it was beginning to sink in. The nervousness and dread that had been fluttering around in his belly hardened into stone. In his mind's eye he could see Haley, images flashed through his mind from different times in his life like snapshots; starting from today and moving back to the first moment that he met her.

When his imagination wandered back into the present he could see her clearly: Haley was wearing her wedding dress and he was there with her in their honeymoon suite. He was unhooking the row of buttons that ran down the length of her back and as each one came undone more of her was revealed to him.

Nathan reached out one hand to touch her and he noticed that his hand wasn't his own. He blinked and then he wasn't in the room anymore, it was like he was suddenly a spectator, watching what was happening from a distance. The man with Haley, the man who was slipping her dress of her hips, the man who was kissing her, was Mark. Nathan struggled to shout or do something but he couldn't move. He watched as Mark took Haley's hand and led her to the bed.

Nathan came awake suddenly; sweat was pouring off him and he was breathing hard. He put his head in his hands and blew out a frustrated breath. He had to get out of Tree Hill; there was no way he could be here when Haley came back from her honeymoon. If he spent any more time around Mark he'd probably hit the man.

He pushed off the blanket that Tim had probably thrown over him and left quietly. As soon as he got home he'd pack a few things and get back to Durham.

Nathan got back in his car and as he was turning up his mother's driveway he resolved to make a clean break and try to move on with his life. He was going to try to forget her but a part of him couldn't even begin to see how. So much of his life was tied to her in some way. Over the past few weeks he'd spent more time that he should've thinking about her and how they met. Maybe if he let the memories come, instead of trying to shut them out, he could finally let go.


	2. Chapter 2 An Unexpected Call

**Chapter 2 An Unexpected Call**

_Ten Years Ago  
June 8, 2003_

Karen walked over to a ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Karen?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Deb Scott." When Karen didn't reply she said, "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Y-yes. It's just . . . surprising to hear from you."

"I know." Deb took a deep breath. "I think it would be a good idea if we talked. Do you think you could meet me for lunch?"

"All my afternoons are pretty busy, but maybe a late dinner?"

"That sounds great."

There was an awkward silence and Karen cleared her throat. "Uh, the Hearthstone has great pasta."

"Good. Can you meet me there around seven?" Deb unconsciously rubbed the back of her neck.

"How's seven-thirty?" Karen asked.

"That's great, really great. Do you think you could give me instructions on how to get there?"

"Sure."

After a while and a few more awkward pauses Karen said goodbye and hung up. She sat down in a chair and put a hand over her eyes. It was going to be a disaster.

* * *

Karen walked into the restaurant and smiled hello to the hostess. "I'm meeting someone here, Deb Scott?"

The woman glanced down at her clipboard. "Oh yes, she's already here. I'll take you to her table."

"Thank you."

They made their way into the restaurant and she saw the blond woman stand up when she approached.

"Karen." Deb reached out to shake her hand.

"Deb." Karen smiled nervously. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Oh, no, I just got here," Deb lied. She'd been sitting in the restaurant since six, trying to keep calm.

The hostess spoke. "I'll send a waiter right out."

Deb smiled politely.

Karen picked up a menu and asked, "Have you been here before?"

"No . . . I have been to Grady's, The Lodge, and Wellmont, though."

"Really?"

"I'm not much of a cook so we eat out a lot."

Karen nodded and the conversation fell flat. Deb breathed a sigh of relief when the waiter finally came. She'd known that this dinner was going to be awkward, but she'd never realized just how uncomfortable it was going to be.

"I'll have the steak—medium rare—and fettuccini alfredo, please," Karen said.

"I'll have the same thing."

"It's really very good." Karen smiled.

"I'll trust your judgment." Deb picked up a dinner roll and spread some butter on it. She spoke to the waiter just as he was beginning to walk away. "Oh, and could you bring out a bottle of Albariño?"

"I've never had that wine."

"Well, I think that if we're both going to get through this, we're going to need alcohol."

Karen laughed. "Maybe you should make it two bottles, then."

"Sounds good." Deb raised her hand for the waiter and he came back. "Make that two bottles."

"Two bottles it is," he said.

"Deb! I was kidding!" Karen exclaimed.

"I wasn't. We need alcohol, and not the cheap stuff either."

"Oh God." Karen put her head in her hands. "This is a nightmare."

"Tell me about it."

By the time the waiter brought out their food they were already through the first bottle and working on the second.

"Keith's been a godsend, really." Karen hiccupped. "I don't know what I would have done without him. He's been there for me ever since Lucas was born."

"I'm so sorry, Karen."

Karen waved a hand in the air. "It's not your fault. Not anybody's fault. Dan fault." Karen put a hand to her forehead, maybe she should hold off on the wine and eat something, she was starting to become incoherent.

"Yeah. My husband really is an asshole. I didn't even know that he had another son until years after we got married and had Nathan."

"How'd you find out?"

My parents are originally from Tree Hill, they own a car dealership here and after Dan was laid off and his business failed my parents offered him a job, but he didn't want to take it and he wouldn't say why."

"Shocker."

"Yeah. Well, my work with different foundations and charities is pretty rewarding, but it doesn't pay all that much. So finally we got to the point where Dan had to find something and since he didn't want to work at McDonald's, here we are. I guess it's good that he didn't let me find out after we moved here about his other son and you."

"What did you do when you found out?"

Deb shrugged. "Not much—that is, until now. After I found out that he'd been keeping this secret from me I didn't speak to him for months, which wasn't hard because I was traveling a lot, and I took Nathan with me when I could.

"By the time we moved here we'd starting talking again, a little. But I don't know if things will ever get back to normal. I'm beginning to see a side to him that I really don't like. I don't know how it's going to fall out."

Karen looked thoughtful and swirled the pasta around her fork.

"What about you?" Deb asked, sipping her wine. "How do you feel about me being here?"

"Honestly?"

Deb nodded.

"It's bringing up all kinds of feelings that I thought were long gone. I'd forgotten about how angry I was about what Dan did to me, or worse, what he did to Lucas."

"I'm sorry."

Karen smiled. "You keep saying that. It's not your fault. I wasn't really looking forward to this but that's because of Dan, not you."

Deb swallowed. "Karen . . . there's something that I wanted to ask you. The thing is, I want Nathan to know Lucas."

Karen took a breath. "I see."

"I'd understand if you say no, but I think that Nathan could really use a brother. He's been acting up lately and from what I've heard about your son I think he could be a really good influence on him."

"You've talked to people about Lucas?"

"To Dan's parents."

Karen stared at her. "_Dan's_parents?"

Now Deb was surprised, "They have all kinds of pictures and things of Lucas. You didn't know?"

Karen shook her head. "I barely spoke to them when Dan and I were dating, and after he disappeared I didn't hear a word from Mae or Royal."

"They're the ones who told me about how much Lucas loves to read, play basketball, and that he's on the honor roll."

Karen was silent for a while, digesting this.

"Please don't answer me now, just think about it."

"I'll consider it."

"Thanks."

Deb reached over to fill Karen's wine glass to the brim and she laughed.

* * *

Karen got out of a cab in front of her house and made her way inside. Keith was sitting up, waiting for her.

"Karen?"

"Keith! Hey, hey. Hi."

" . . . are you drunk?"

"Drunk? Yeah. Yep. A little. Not too much, though."

"Not too much?" Keith was amused.

"Yep."

"Where were you?"

"Had dinner with Deb."

"What! Deb?"

"Yep."

"How . . ."

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, Keith. Right now, I'm going to bed. Been a long night."

Keith blinked as Karen made her way into her bedroom and flopped onto her bed. Within moments, she was out. Keith shook his head and took off her shoes before pulling a blanket over her and letting himself out.


	3. Chapter 3 Hard Decisions

**Chapter 3 Hard Decisions**

Karen was in her kitchen baking cake after cake. She'd started with an angel and was working her way through a devil's food. When she was done with that she'd get started on some carrot cake.

It was a warm May night and it got so hot that she opened another window before cracking two more eggs into her mixing bowl. The timer dinged and she put on her mitts and pulled a pan out of the oven. The delicious smell of cocoa and sugar rose from it and she breathed it in for a moment before putting it down on the stovetop.

She returned to her mixer, watched the whisk move through the batter, and thought over everything Deb had said to her yesterday. She wished that she knew what to do about it; a part of her wanted to see Nathan, see what kind of kid Dan had raised. But most of her didn't even want to deal with any of this. For a minute Karen was so angry that she wanted to hit something. Why was it that every time Dan did something she had to deal with the fallout?

Karen folded in flour, baking soda, spices, and then finally the grated carrots and brown sugar. She pulled out two round cake pans and divided the mix evenly between them, ran her rubber spatula around the bowl to get the rest of it out, and felt her tension ease a little. Baking always made her feel better. It was a wonder that Lucas was as skinny as he was considering how many times she'd had to do this over the years.

But now she was faced with a decision that scared her and she had forgotten what that had felt like. Lucas was pretty mature for his age but he still wasn't an adult. Was it fair to burden him with this now? But what if she waited too long and jeopardized the relationship he could have with his brother? Nathan was still very young, the two of them still had time to really build something with one another; instead of trying to piece together a relationship after they both became adults.

Then there was Dan. If there was anything she knew for sure it was that she did _not_ want that man in her child's life. But she didn't really know him, even though she thought she had. When he was in high school she'd believed that he was so right for her. He was certain about what he wanted to do and who he wanted to be with. She'd let his confidence become her own. After she'd gotten pregnant he'd freaked out—which didn't really surprise her—but what did was when he'd come back apologetic and full of promises. She'd believed him right up to the moment she'd given birth. She'd hadn't even let go of that faith when Keith had come to the hospital instead of him, and a part of her still held onto it until she'd come home to an empty apartment with a newborn in her arms and exactly fifty-six dollars and eighteen cents.

But during that first night at home with Lucas after she put him down and sat there in her tiny bedroom, alone, she'd finally accepted the fact that he'd disappeared without even bothering to say good-bye.

She'd had no contact with him since then. Not one phone call or letter, and if Keith saw him they never talked about it. She assumed that her friend must see his brother on occasion when he went to visit his parents or when Dan had married Deb or when Nathan had been born. She'd found out about them years after the fact and she didn't know much about them apart from their names; she'd never asked Keith about it and he never brought up the subject. He'd known that she didn't want to face it.

And Lucas . . . she'd been careful about how she'd talked about Dan around him. It had taken years, but she'd thought that she'd managed to let go of most her anger. She'd tried to make sure that Lucas knew that he had a right to be mad at his father, but she didn't want him to hate him. She didn't want Dan to have that much power over how Lucas felt about himself; she always stressed that he had just been an irresponsible boy—not evil incarnate.

But she had no idea how Dan would react to having them reintroduced into his life. She wasn't kidding herself. Eventually, their paths would cross. So the question was how and when.

* * *

Keith walked into the house and raised his eyebrows. The house smelled wonderful and there were four beautifully iced cakes on the kitchen table, and from the looks of it Karen was working on cakes five and six.

"Everything looks great Kare."

She paused briefly before continuing to whip a spoon through her cream cheese frosting.

"Thanks."

Keith looked at her carefully. "You're not still drunk, are you?"

She gave him an exasperated look. "Of course not."

"Just checking. Whenever you drink you get really monosyllabic."

"Great."

He smiled. "So I'm guessing that Deb said something to you to trigger this bake-off."

"How long have you been talking to your parents about Lucas?"

Keith froze and then sat down slowly. "Only over the last two years or so."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Karen's frosting was really getting a beating.

"Honestly, I had no idea how to bring it up. They just asked a couple questions about Luke and how he was doing. I asked them if they wanted some pictures—they said yes—and I sent them a few."

Karen poured the cake batter into freshly flowered pans and slid them into the oven. "Were you ever going to let me know about that?"

"Of course I was, Karen."

"Of course? You hid it for two years!" She opened a cupboard so hard that it made a bang as it hit the wall.

"Karen, we talked a total of maybe two hours over those years. We didn't have long, involved conversations, okay?"

"You're right, I have nothing to be upset about."

"I didn't say that."

Keith got up and put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from getting more bowls. "I think that after all this time that maybe my parents are starting to realize that they were wrong for not trying to reach out to you after you got pregnant."

"I'm not interested in what they think." Karen took a breath. "I'm already dealing with Dan being back and this thing with Nathan. I don't want them showing up and wanting to be in our lives too."

"Whatever happens you have to know that I'm going to be there for you and Lucas."

"I know that." Karen's shoulders relaxed. "I do, Keith. I'm just . . . I've been going back and forth with what I'm going to do."

"About?"

"Deb wants Nathan and Lucas to spend time together, to be real brothers."

"Do you think that's a good thing?"

"I don't know."

Keith sat back down, his brow furrowed in thought. "You're worried about seeing Dan."

"I'm worried about everything." Karen took a deep breath and picked up her measuring cup. "But I told myself a while ago that I wouldn't let my feelings for Dan control my life. And I don't want Lucas to let his father dictate what he'll do either."

Keith just watched Karen as she separated her eggs. She rolled her shoulders to release the tension in them as she beat the egg whites until they became stiff. He could see her thinking over everything that had happened and what might happen. She set the bowl down decisively.

"I'm going to talk to Lucas about meeting Nathan," she said finally.

"That's great, Karen. It's really great. You're making the right choice."

"Am I?" Karen eyes were conflicted. "I think I might have signed the both of us up for even more heartache."

"Maybe you want to think about this more?"

"I've been thinking about it since six this morning." She creamed the sugar, butter, egg yolks, milk and vanilla. "In a way, I've been thinking about this for sixteen years. When Lucas was still little I kept running these scenarios through my head about what I'd do if Dan ever came back or if . . . when he got married."

"Karen, you shouldn't feel like you have to do anything."

"But I do. I'm not going to run from this anymore, Keith. I'm tired of it. Dan is not going to be the tragedy of my life."

Keith gave her an admiring smile. "Lucas is going to be fine and so are you."

"Thanks." Karen glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't think that I'm not still mad at you. If your parents were asking about Lucas you should have told me."

"I swear I'll never keep anything like that from you again."

"Good. Can you get my tube pan down off the shelf?"

* * *

The next day Karen sat down with Lucas and explained everything to him.

"You want me to spend time with Dan's son?"

"He's your brother."

". . . Why, Mom?"

"I grew up an only child and I always wanted brothers and sisters."

"You can't be serious."

"Lucas—"

"I've never even seen him before and now you want me to adopt him or something?"

"I want you to get to know him because the relationship that the two of you could have is separate from Dan."

"Not really. It's because of Dan that we're even talking about this."

Karen nodded. "I suppose. But it's not Nathan's choice, or yours, that Dan's his father."

Lucas glared at her. "I don't want to see him. I don't want anything to do with that bastard!"

"Lucas! How can you say that about a boy you don't even know yet?"

"Not Nathan, Mom, Dan!"

"Oh." Karen relaxed. "You won't have to see him. Deb would be dropping him off at the café."

Lucas shook his head. "I don't know about this."

"Just think about it, okay? I won't force you to do anything that you don't want to, but I know that you're curious about him."

Lucas stared out the window for a moment and then got up to cut himself a piece of pound cake. Karen went to the fridge and got out the freshly whipped cream and a bowl of strawberries. She handed them over to him.

"Thanks." Lucas ate, chewing thoughtfully. "Why would Deb call you?"

"Well, she heard about what a great kid you are and I guess she wants someone like you around her son." Karen preened a little. "She knows what an incredible mother I am."

"You're the best." Lucas rolled his eyes playfully.

"You should say that like you mean it."

"I am a little curious about him," Lucas said quietly. "But I don't want you to have to see him, Mom. He'll just remind you about what happened with Dan."

"Oh, honey. You're worried about me? Don't be. I've learned how to deal with how I feel about Dan. But Nathan isn't responsible for any of that. I just don't want that bitterness to follow the two of you or for you to grow up to be strangers. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't let Dan control my life and that meant not letting him color every decision I make. And I'm glad because if I hadn't let some of my anger go, Keith wouldn't be in our lives."

Lucas looked a little surprised at that. "I can't imagine not talking to Keith."

"And I don't want you to miss out on being a big brother out of fear of what Dan will do or say."

Lucas nodded thoughtfully.

"Luke, even if you agree to this, it won't be happening tomorrow. I still want to get to know Deb better and talk to her about all of this before we arrange a meeting."

Lucas cracked his knuckles. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I . . . I do want to see him. Nathan."

"Okay." Karen put her hands in her lap so Lucas couldn't see them shaking.


	4. Chapter 4 Best Friend

**Chapter 4 Best Friend**

"Wow, you agreed to see Nathan?" Haley stuck a spoon into the sundae she'd made for herself.

"Yeah. He just moved to town about a month ago. My deadbeat father is going to be running the dealership." Lucas sat down at Haley's kitchen table, moving the containers of crushed peanuts, caramel, and hot fudge aside so that he'd have a place to rest his arms.

"How old is he?"

"Nathan was born when I was seven so he's nine years old, I think."

"That's got to be weird for you."

"My mom told me that Deb asked if he could meet me."

"That's a real compliment, Lucas."

He shrugged. "I guess. I don't know, I'd feel weird hanging around a kid that's been raised by Dan. Who knows what they've told him about me, and for all I know he could be a devil spawn."

"You won't know unless you meet him, right?"

"I don't even know if I want to see him. I don't think I can go through with it. What would we even talk about?"

"I know it'll be hard for you Luke, but you can't let what Dan did affect the way you treat him. Plus you'd have a little brother! How cool is that?"

Lucas smiled slightly. "Mom says that he likes basketball."

"See? You've been the star shooter for the Ravens since you were a freshman, talk to him about that."

Lucas considered it for a moment, and then grimaced. "No. No, I can't."

"Look, Lucas. How can I tell you this nicely . . . sometimes you can be a tool."

"Thanks, Haley," Lucas said dryly. "Way to soften the blow."

"It's not completely your fault, it comes from being an only child. Only children are naturally selfish. They don't have to share anything, attention from the parents, clothes, food . . ."

"Your point, Hales?"

"The point is, maybe you could use a brother. And maybe you should think about Nathan. It would be a terrible thing for him to grow up and find out that you refused to even meet him once. Dan made that mistake and I know he's going to regret it, if he doesn't already."

Lucas looked at her hard. "Are you comparing me to Dan?"

"Whoa, of course not. You couldn't be him on your worst day. Look, if you can't then you can't. It would be understandable. Here"—Haley shoved a heaping spoonful of her ice cream into Lucas' mouth— "try my latest invention."

"Haley . . . ahh!" Lucas grabbed his forehead.

"Ooh, brain freeze?" She rubbed his shoulder. "Sorry."

"Man," Lucas said when it eased, "why do I spend time with you?"

"Cause I don't kiss your ass like half the school does."

Lucas watched Haley savor a spoonful of ice cream. "Hales, it's not ambrosia. Just eat it."

"Says you." Haley licked her spoon delicately.

Lucas stared out the window and tossed a can of chocolate shavings in the air again and again. "Fine, I'll give it a shot. But if the kid's a brat I'm dropping him off at the nearest bus stop."

Haley smiled. "Good for you, Luke." Suddenly serious she stood up and hugged him tightly. "Dan leaving you and your Mom is on him, okay? Not you. You're a great person and he missed out on having a great son."

Lucas' eyes became bright before he blinked the tears away and laughed. "Now I remember why you're my best friend."

"Well, I'd love to stay and be worshipped by you, but my shift starts soon."

"Okay, tell my Mom I'm going to be at the library for a while."

"Sure." Haley grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

* * *

Haley used the tongs to put some muffins on a plate and carried it out to a customer. When she got back to the counter Karen was refilling the biscotti jar. 

"How's it going?" Haley asked.

"Fine." Karen gave her a small smile.

"No, really. How are things with you and all this crap your ex has dumped in your lap?"

"It's going," Karen said grimly. "I really wish that there was a way for Lucas to see his brother without having to think about him but"—Karen shrugged—"who said life was fair?"

"I can't believe that he just showed up here in Tree Hill after all this time—and with a wife and son."

"There are days when I can't believe it either. When he left I thought that I'd never see him again."

"What's his wife's name, again?"

"Deb." Karen bused some dishes and Haley wiped down the counter. "I was a little surprised, she seems like a pretty nice person. I would have expected Dan to marry a barracuda or something."

"A barracuda?" Haley smiled. "That would be some justice. No, wait, he deserves more punishment than that. Maybe one of these days he can come by and you and Lucas can dump the old cooking oil on him."

Karen snorted. "I don't want him near me or my kid."

"Isn't that going to be hard with Nathan coming around here?"

"I've made myself very clear with Deb and I've spoken to Dan about it, too. Under no circumstances is he ever going to accompany Nathan. Someday, if Lucas wants to, maybe I'll let them meet, but it won't be anytime soon."

"You actually had a conversation with Lord Voldemort?"

"What?"

"Dan."

"I'm not sure if I could call it a conversation. He said hello, I told him to stay away from me and my Lucas, and then I hung up." Karen shook her head at herself. "I'd planned on being cool and collected and as soon as I heard his voice I just wanted to throw the phone across the room."

"Baby steps. You'll get there." Haley changed out the coffee filter.

Karen looked at her carefully. "There's something else you want to say."

Haley shrugged.

"What is it? Tell me."

"I just don't think it's going to be easy to compartmentalize everything. Nathan's Dan son, and so is Lucas. Eventually, you guys are going to run into each other."

"It's inevitable. But I think that we can keep our lives separate for a little while, for at least long enough that Nathan and Lucas can build some kind of relationship without too much interference from their father. I hope."


	5. Chapter 5 Hesitant Meetings

**Chapter 5 Hesitant Meetings**

_August 5, 2003_

"So today is your first play date?" Haley smiled. "That's so cute."

"Less snark and more support, please."

Lucas sat at the counter, fidgeting a little, while Haley tried to calm him down by chatting about random things.

"So my Mom caught Taylor in the backseat of our car with a guy who had to have been at least ten years older than her. She's just unbelievable sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah," Lucas said.

"But I don't have any room to talk really, I mean, after the orgy that I had with Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, and Orlando Bloom, who am I to be throwing around the slut label?"

"Sure."

"Lucas . . . Lucas!" His eyes snapped to hers. "Pay attention. Everything is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

"You're right. It's stupid to be nervous. But maybe we should call Deb and cancel, I mean, I've got to start getting ready for senior year, I'm taking all these AP classes—and there's basketball. I've got to get started on that before it's too late."

"It's the first week of August, Luke. I think you have time to spend a couple hours with the sibling you've never met before."

"Yeah." Lucas tried to look casual. "I might as well get this over with."

"Exactly. Look, tell me all about it tomorrow—"

"Hold up, you're not leaving are you?"

"Well, yeah. Your brother's going to be here any minute so . . ."

"No, no, no. You talked me into this, you're staying."

"_I_talked you into this? Lucas . . ."

"Uh-uh. Sit your butt back down."

"Fine!" Haley flopped back into her seat. "I hope you know that I'm missing American Idol for you."

"My heart's breaking." Lucas stood up as Deb walked into the café looking a little nervous. Behind her was a young boy with jet-black hair that fell into his face, partially hiding his eyes. He was dressed in shorts and a basketball jersey. On his feet were the latest Jordans.

"Lucas," Deb smiled, "it's so nice to finally meet you."

"You too," he said politely.

"I've heard a lot of great things about you," Deb continued.

"Oh, thanks. Uh, this is my best friend Haley James."

"Nice to meet you, Haley."

"You too, Mrs. Scott." Haley shook her hand.

"Please, call me Deb. And of course this is my son Nathan."

"Hey," Lucas said.

Nathan muttered a hello under his breath. Haley looked over at Lucas and saw him cracking the knuckles of his right hand—a nervous habit that he had had since forever. She could tell that he was searching for something to say. There was an uncomfortable silence and Karen looked like she wanted to say or do something but she stayed behind the counter. Haley looked around at everyone before speaking.

"So you're the famous Nathan Scott." Haley smiled down at him.

The boy finally raised his head and Haley saw his beautiful blue eyes for the first time. Aw, what a cutie, she thought.

"Famous?" Nathan finally spoke.

"You are the Nathan Scott that played small forward at Holden Elementary, right?"

"You know about that?" Nathan smiled tentatively.

"Know about it?" Haley scoffed, "Why do you think I'm here? When I found out that you were Lucas' brother I thought to myself that all these years of putting up with him have finally paid off—now that I get to meet you."

"Really?" Nathan's smile widened into a grin as Deb laughed.

"I swear." Haley nudged Lucas.

"I thought that maybe we could go down to the Rivercourt and practice our three-pointers, maybe play a little?" Lucas looked down at his brother and tried to look relaxed.

Nathan looked at his mom and when she nodded he shrugged. "Sure."

"Okay." Lucas left to get his ball from the backroom and when he came back Nathan was laughing at something that Haley had said. "Ready to go?"

Nathan stood up and followed Lucas to the exit. He was reaching for the door when Nathan said, "Can Haley come?"

"I'll ask." Lucas beckoned to her and she walked over. "Hales, do you think you could come with us?"

"Huh?"

"Nathan asked if you could tag along."

"Really?" She smiled at his little brother. "I'd love to."

"Thanks." The relief he felt was palpable. Haley saw it and winked at him.

Karen remained motionless during the entire exchange. She watched as they all walked off and smiled over at Deb.

"So far so good," Deb sighed as she sat down at a stool.

"Coffee?"

"Please."

Karen poured her a cup while Deb twisted her fingers together. "I was so nervous on the drive over here."

"Was Nathan?"

"I'm not sure if he's completely grasped what's going on. I told him that his father had another son with someone who isn't his mom before he was born and that's about it. I didn't know how to explain to him that Dan walked out on his own flesh and blood."

"I don't envy you that conversation."

"Karen . . . can I ask you something personal?"

"Go ahead."

"How did you explain it to Lucas?"

"I told him that his father was very young, immature, and that he ran away because he thought that he wouldn't be a good dad."

"How did Lucas take that?"

"Sometimes I still don't know. He's angry at Dan, of course, but I always wanted him to understand that it wasn't his fault that his father left. I really hope that he never felt that it was."

Deb sighed. "I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I was so sure that it was a good idea for them to get to know each other, but what about Lucas? How must he feel having this thrust into his life? I'm sorry about this Karen, I can't believe that I roped you into this . . ."

"What did I tell you about apologizing, Deb? Stop it. You were right. It's not going to do us any good to avoid each other or to pretend that this isn't going to be really uncomfortable for a while, but so what? I think this is a good move, I really do. I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise."

"Thanks, Karen." Deb wrapped her hands around her coffee cup.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything when you came in. I had this whole speech prepared but I was a little startled . . . Nathan looks a lot like his father."

"I'm sor—" Deb cut herself off when Karen gave her a look. "He really does. Mae says that Nathan looks just like Dan when he was around that age."

"I expected Lucas to look more like him, I have no idea where his blond hair came from, both of my parents and my grandparents were brunettes."

"Almost all of my relatives are blondes. You have no idea how disappointed my dad was when Nathan came out so dark, but you can always pick my son out of a family photo."

"He and Dan must really stand out."

"Oh, Dan hasn't been in any of the pictures for years now. He got too busy with trying to get his sports agency off the ground. And he was just so combative with everyone who tried to help him . . . and I'm sure you don't want to hear any of this."

Karen thought for a minute and then a relieved smile spread across her face. "No, it's okay." She spooned some sugar into her cup, looking a little surprised at herself. "It's really okay. Go on."

* * *

"Lucas Scott has the ball and the Ravens are down by two points, they only need one more basket and they'll be the champions of Tree Hill." He dribbled the ball up the court as Nathan attempted to guard him.

"Scott shoots," Lucas raised his arms to hit the three-pointer.

Nathan charged forward and tripped, accidentally landing an elbow in Lucas' midsection. He felt the air whoosh out of him; the ball hit the rim without going in before bouncing onto the court and then into the grass. Lucas fell onto his back and Nathan landed on top of him.

"Scott is fouled hard by Nathan," Lucas groaned. "And the dreams of thousands of fans are ruined."

Nathan laughed. "I win!"

Haley ran over to them. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, he didn't hit me that hard." Lucas rubbed his stomach as he sat up.

"I was talking to Nathan," Haley said.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine, Haley," Nathan said shyly.

"You have a pretty good jump shot, Nate." Lucas stood up.

"Thanks, my Dad made me practice it a hundred times."

"Did he?" Lucas said neutrally.

There was a small silence.

"Are you guys played out yet?" Haley asked. "Because as much as I love watching the two of you bounce an orange ball up and down the court we could go do something else."

"Like what?" Lucas asked.

"Like the arcade."

"Yeah!" Nathan's eyes sparkled.

Lucas checked his watch. "It's getting a little late, I'm sure Nathan's mom is expecting us back soon."

"We'll only play a couple games, come on Luke."

"Okay," Lucas went to retrieve his ball.

"Nathan, you should know that I rule Mortal Kombat."

"I'm pretty good too," Nathan said proudly.

"Maybe, but I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're cute." Nathan smiled at that. "Because nobody plays Kitana like I can play Kitana."

They walked off and Haley tried to engage both Nathan and Lucas in conversation. Nathan was friendly enough but he was more reserved than she'd expected him to be and since Lucas wasn't very talkative either, they'd spent most of their time in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, exactly, but there was definitely a weird vibe.

It was like running into a celebrity in person for the first time: you see his face and you _know_ that you know him, but you're also certain that you've never met before.

She felt that same half-familiarity with Nathan, especially when she watched him and her friend play together. On the court some of that awkwardness had faded away a little but now that they'd left, it had returned.

* * *

They got to Gameworks and Lucas held the door open; Nathan walked inside and Haley followed him. He hadn't seen much of Tree Hill or even really met anyone. He was glad to get out of the house, his parents weren't talking and there were times when he felt more scared by the silence than he was by the fighting.

His brother . . . Nathan was still getting used to that, but at the same time it was a little exciting. Lucas was the best shooter he'd ever seen. His friend Haley was really fun, too. She talked a lot and made them both laugh.

Lucas got the tokens and Haley looked over at Nathan. "You're up."

"Excuse me?" Lucas looked slightly offended. "I paid for those tokens, why isn't he playing me first?"

"Because I'm the defending champion," Haley said with the air of someone who'd been asked a question almost too obvious to be taken seriously.

Nathan looked up and at her and then grabbed the joystick. They both selected their players and Nathan bit his lip as he focused on trying to beat Haley, she _was_ good.

Eventually he lost out to her mastery. After watching her character make Liu Kang explode into a shower of gore he looked over at his new brother.

"If I can't beat her I'm not sure that you can either."

"Ha," Lucas scoffed. "Watch me."

"Bring it, Scott," Haley challenged.

* * *

By the time they got back to the café it was already dark. They rushed in and Deb stood up, relieved that they all looked like they'd had a good time.

"A little late aren't you?" Karen said.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Scott," Lucas said. "We went to the arcade and Haley kept beating us both and then she said that she could win against me six times in a row—"

"And I did," Haley said under her breath.

Lucas glared at his friend and then turned back to Deb. "I'm really sorry."

"It's Deb, Lucas, and it's okay. I'm glad you had fun."

"Mom!" Nathan ran up to his mother. "Lucas plays for the Tree Hill Ravens and he showed me how to shoot a three-pointer so you never miss!"

"Did he?" Deb grinned down at her son.

"Yeah . . ." Nathan went on and on and Deb felt herself completely relax for the first time that day.

Deb looked up. "We've got to get going, Nate."

"Do we have to?"

"We'll come back later."

Deb cringed a little because she and Karen hadn't talked about getting the boys together after this first meeting. She looked over at her with an apology in her eyes.

Karen spoke to Nathan for the first time. "Of course you'll be coming back," she said, "you haven't tried any of my desserts."

"Nathan," Deb put one hand on her son's head, "this is Ms. Roe. Lucas' mom."

"Hi, Ms. Roe."

"Hello, Nathan. You can call me Karen."

Nathan nodded, shy again.

"We'd better get going." Deb pulled out her car keys.

"Wait a second." Haley pulled the out a keychain that had a little basketball hanging from it out of her pocket. She handed it over to Nathan with a warm smile. "Here."

Nathan had a look of total surprise on his face. He took the trinket from her and after looking at it for a moment he hugged her around the waist. Deb blinked at him, surprised. Usually it took Nathan a long time to warm up to people. She'd never seen him be so spontaneously affectionate.

Nathan looked over at his brother. "Bye, Lucas."

"Bye kid." Lucas had a half-smile on his face.

Deb gave Karen a grateful smile and then walked out the door. Nathan was so energized that he seemed to bounce up the sidewalk as they walked to their car.

"How'd it go?" Karen asked.

"It was good," Lucas said cautiously. "Nathan's a really fun kid."

"You seem to have made an impression," Karen said to Haley.

She shrugged. "What can I say? The people who know me, love me. Hey, Karen, do you want me to close up? I know you've had a long day."

"Thanks, Haley. That's okay, you and Lucas can take off, I've got some paperwork to do."

"Okay, Mom." Lucas hugged Karen.

Haley waved to her as they walked out.

"Thanks for hanging with me today, Hales."

"Oh, no problem. I had a good time."

"I can't believe that you sacrificed all the tickets you won to get him that prize. You've been playing that game for weeks and you finally had enough to get that bracelet you wanted."

"Eh, it isn't every day you reunite with your long-lost brother."

"I'm a little hurt that you didn't give it to me."

Haley laughed. "I'm not that generous. So what did you really think about him?"

"It was fun, I mean, it's weird too. I keep thinking about what I'll say to people when we're out. Do I say, 'This is Nathan' or 'This is my brother, Nathan'?"

"Does it really matter? I'm sure everyone already heard the whole story through the grapevine."

"That's comforting, Hales. Thanks."

"People talk, Lucas. And your story is a little like something out of General Hospital."

"My life, the soap opera."

"And I get a front row seat." Haley grinned. "Pam Hodges has been trying to pump me for information about this all week."

Lucas glanced over at her. "So what do you tell them?"

"If they want to know anything I demand cold, hard cash." Haley nodded seriously. "I don't talk for less than a thousand."

"Only a thousand? I'm a little insulted."

"Don't worry so much. Before you know it the next scandal will come along and you'll be yesterday's news."

"I don't really care that much . . . but it's got to be hard on my mom."

"She seems to be dealing with it okay."

"Maybe."

"You think this is harder for her then she's letting on?"

"I don't know. Whenever Mom does talk about Dan she always seems really calm about him."

"I'd probably be pissed off all the time at that . . . jerk."

"Language, Haley."

"My bad." She smiled.

"She says that even though Dan wasn't the man that she thought he was she doesn't regret anything because she's happy, really happy . . . and that she has me," Lucas added softly.

"Karen's a smart woman." Haley spoke with perfect confidence.

"If Mom is strong enough to let Nathan and Deb be in our lives then I guess I can try to be his brother."

Haley looped her arm through Lucas' and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk together.

"I like you, Lucas."

He laughed. "I'm not letting you off the hook Haley. When Nathan comes over next week you're going to be right there with me."

"Crap. Then I withdraw my affection."

"Doesn't matter. I need you there in body, not spirit."

"Come on, Luke. Are you afraid to be alone with him?"

"Sort of," Lucas said quietly.

The teasing light faded out of Haley's eyes. "Why?"

"I don't care about Dan most of the time but sometimes I just get so pissed off at him. And Nathan looks a lot like him."

"Luke . . ."

"I just don't want to take it out on him."

"You won't. How many times did you even think about Dan tonight?"

"A lot. Until we got on the court."

"It's going to get easier, trust me."

They walked while Lucas thought to himself. Finally he asked her something she could tell was eating at him a little. "Do you think Nathan likes me?"

"Of course he likes you, Luke."

"He didn't talk to me all that much."

"Well, you didn't talk much either. But before you know it the two of you will start chatting and then can hate each other for all the right reasons. Like me and my brothers."

Lucas smiled. "What are the right reasons?"

"Matt cut my hair once when I was sleeping—"

"Oh, yeah I remember that." Lucas laughed. "God, that was ugly."

"Shut up," Haley mumbled.

"And right after that you got dumped by the heartthrob of the entire fourth grade."

"You were just jealous of Pete because none of the girls wanted your scrawny butt."

"I am not scrawny!"

"Denial is so sad."

They argued all the way back to Haley's house.


	6. Chapter 6 More Involved

**Chapter 6 More Involved**

_October 22, 2003_

"What are you up for tomorrow, Hales? Maybe we could go see a movie or stop by the bookstore," Lucas said.

"Uh, neither. I'm going to be hitting the books, I have that calculus midterm on Monday, remember?"

Lucas looked surprised, "I thought that you were ready for that."

"I am, mostly, but I need to review."

"But it's Friday. We always go out on Fridays." The look on his face made Haley smile at him.

"You and Nathan are going to have a great time." Haley lay back on her bed. "Take him to the game."

"What?"

Haley rolled over and opened her drawer. She pulled two tickets out and handed them over to Lucas.

"Bobcats tickets? Where did you get these?"

"I called in a few favors. I'm sorry I couldn't get you guys better seats."

"Are you kidding? This is amazing."

"Luke, how long have you been hanging out with your brother?"

"Almost three months now."

"And how many times has it just been the two of you?"

"A couple times."

"How about never. I'm always there and I always do most of the talking."

"That's because you have the biggest mouth."

Haley gave him a look. "Ha. You two are going to go to the game and you're going to be fine."

Lucas sat down at the edge of her bed, looking at the tickets. "Hey, I was just asking you to come along because I didn't want you to think that you're not welcome."

"Of course you were."

"Because you know that we love having you around."

"Of course you do."

"But if you're busy, that's fine, Nathan and I can hang out without you."

"Of course you can."

Lucas stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Lucas got as far as the bedroom door before he turned right back around. "Okay, that was all crap."

"It was?" Haley tried to look surprised.

"You can't leave me alone with him, Hales!"

"Lucas, pretend that I'm a mama bird and you're my little chick. You're ready to fly but you're too scared so I have to push you out of the nest."

"That's a great analogy," sarcasm was dripping off Lucas' voice, "very poetic."

"Thank you." Haley ignored his tone. "I have faith in you, and you're going to have the best time of your life. Trust me."

"Charlotte is an hour away and Deb probably won't let Nathan stay out that late."

"You're probably right. It's good thing I already called and got her permission. She's fine with it. But I did ask her not to tell Nathan, I told her that we wanted to surprise him with the news."

"I don't know how we're going to get there."

"Keith told me that he could lend you his car." Haley tossed the keys to him and Lucas caught them with one hand. "There you go."

Lucas glared at her for a moment before turning to leave. For real this time. "I may never speak to you again."

"Oh, what a tragedy that would be." Haley went back to reading her book.

* * *

Haley made a face as Nathan sipped his protein shake. He'd told her that his father was making him drink the disgusting things. He finally finished the last of it, washing down the taste with the big glass of water that she'd brought out for him. Lucas walked into the café and he stood up, ready to go, then looked over at her.

"Haley, are you coming?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, not this time," Haley slung her backpack over one shoulder, "I've got a huge test to study for but you and Luke go have fun."

The look of disappointment on Nathan's face was identical to the expression on Lucas' yesterday, and Haley had to hide her smile.

Nathan turned to his brother. "Are we going down to the Rivercourt?"

"Ah, no. I thought we might try something a little different this time. Haley—"

"Thinks that it's so great that Lucas got you both tickets to the Bobcats versus Hawks game!"

Nathan's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding?"

"Show him, Luke."

Her friend shot her a look like she'd lost her mind and handed Nathan a ticket.

Nathan was practically bouncing off the walls. His dad made him watch game tapes for hours but he usually never had time to take him to see the real thing anymore. He said a quick goodbye and practically yanked Lucas out the door.

* * *

"I just wanted to call so that you wouldn't be worried Mrs. Scott. We might get back really late."

"Well, thank you, Lucas." Deb said. "But don't worry about it, I have complete faith in you. But call me before you guys start for home, okay?"

"Sure. Nathan wants to talk to you."

"Mom!"

"Hey, sweetheart."

"We're going all the way up to Charlotte for the game!"

"I know, that's so great."

"Dad's going to be so sorry he couldn't come."

"Well, make sure that you tell us all about it when you get back."

"Okay. I've gotta go."

"Bye."

Deb hung up smiling. Nathan sounded so happy, she was so grateful that he had other people in his life. Sometimes their little family felt so isolated. After her parents had moved to California to retire they only saw them a few times a year and Dan barely saw anyone on his side of the family. When they'd moved to Tree Hill she'd hoped that Nathan would be able to experience having a brother but it felt like he'd also found a place with Karen and Haley.

When Haley had called she jumped at the chance to have Nathan out of the house for a while. She and Dan barely exchanged pleasantries any more. Maybe they could talk if they had one evening alone, without having to worry about Nathan hearing them fight.

She kept thinking about what she wanted to say to her husband, he was becoming more and more distant. Even when she'd brought up Nathan going to the game he'd just shrugged and said, "You do whatever you want."

She was beginning to have serious doubts about them and that scared her more than anything. Even though finding out about Lucas had been a huge hit to their relationship it wasn't the only thing that had gone wrong, after all they'd stayed together for years after that bombshell had been dropped.

For the first time she was taking a hard look at their history. Dan had come into her life pretty quickly, she'd been pregnant and then married before she'd really realized what was happening. At the time she'd thought that it was romantic that their relationship had progressed so quickly but now she felt that maybe Dan had rushed into it to forget about the people he'd left behind.

She'd been drawn to him because he'd seemed so confident—almost cocky—but he used to have moments of sweetness. But the longer they were married the more rare those moments became.

She heard Dan's car pull up into the driveway and she moved into the kitchen to grab a drink before dealing with him. He wasn't happy at the dealership and it was really beginning to show. She didn't know what to do about it, they were fighting all the time now. He wanted her to start using her MBA to get a more lucrative job but she loved her work and now that they were both working full time she didn't have to worry about borrowing more money from her parents.

"Hey," Dan walked in, "what's for dinner?"

"I bought a roast chicken from the grocery store."

"It wouldn't hurt if we could have a home-cooked meal once in a while."

Deb gritted her teeth and didn't say anything. She just turned away and slid the biscuits in the oven to warm them. She pulled out the bags of pre-packaged salad and dumped them into a bowl. "How was your day?"

"The same."

"Dan, I was hoping that we could talk."

"About what?"

"Us."

"Do you have a problem?"

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life like this."

"Like what? As far as I can see, everything is going your way."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wanted to move to Tree Hill, and here we are. You wanted Nathan to spend most of his time with that boy, and he is. You wanted to keep the same job, and you did."

Deb gave up on trying to control her frustration. "First off, 'that boy' is Lucas. Your son. Second, I didn't want to move here. We had to because your business didn't get off the ground and we were broke."

"And if you'd just gotten a different job like I'd asked you to, we could have stayed afloat long enough for me to turn things around."

"I think seven years is long enough to determine whether or not something is going to work."

"Do we have to talk about this now? I'm hungry, can we just eat?"

"Fine."

Deb got out plates and dished up the chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. After pulling the rolls out of the oven she put a few of them in a napkin lined basket and put it on the dinner table. They sat down to eat and the only sound in the room was the clinking of their utensils on their plates.

Deb finished her dinner and looked up. "I want Nathan to spend more time with his big brother," she said firmly.

"No." Dan glared at his wife. "Are you crazy? They already see each other once a week. What more do you want? There's no way Nathan is going to be spending more time with Karen's son."

"Wow," Deb cocked her head, "you'd think that Karen was the one who abandoned you."

"Don't start," Dan bit out.

"The boys are getting along great and I think they're ready to see more of each other. Nathan could go over to hang out with him after school while we're still at work."

"No, I won't allow it."

"Dan." Deb was dead serious. "What makes you think it's up to you?"

"I'm his father . . ."

"Well, you're Lucas' father, too."

Dan pursed his lips and was silent.

"We never really talked about how you had another son out there that you 'forgot' to mention. Don't think that because I haven't said anything about it yet that that means you're not going to have to have that conversation with me."

"Fine, we'll talk. But you shouldn't make Nathan go over there. Do you want him to get his head filled with what they have to say to me?"

"Karen and Lucas aren't going to take their very justifiable anger at you out on Nathan. We already talked about it and they're both handling it fine."

Dan shook his head. "No, this is just a bad idea."

"Let me be clear, Dan." Deb locked her eyes on him. "Either you become supportive of Nathan building a better relationship with Lucas, or we can get a divorce and Nathan will see his brother—when he's not with you every other weekend."

Dan glared stonily at her. "You'd never divorce me."

"Try me." Deb was completely calm. "You never even apologized for lying to me for almost five years, Dan. Nathan was four before I even found out that he had an older brother. But I don't lie and I don't bluff—especially when it comes to our marriage."

"Do you really want to give me an ultimatum?" Dan asked softly.

"I'm stating a fact. Nathan's going to spend time with his brother and you aren't going to interfere. You aren't going to say one word about it or we are done."

Dan looked furious but for the first time in a long time Deb wasn't afraid. She'd pushed past some barrier in herself and she wasn't going to hide behind it ever again.

Dan threw his napkin down on the table and stalked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7 A New Normal

**Chapter 7 A New Normal**

_January 6, 2004_

Keith walked into his shop, stomping the snow off his boots.

"Damn, it's cold." He shivered.

Lucas looked up from the car he was working on. "It's been snowing all day."

Keith walked over to the radio in his office and switched it on, tuning it to the weather channel:

"This is about to be the coldest January on record in North Carolina, and with record snowfall. No schools have been closed yet . . ."

Keith turned down the volume and smiled over at Lucas, "Why don't you stay here a little longer while I get some work done and I'll drive you home. You shouldn't be walking home in this."

"Sure."

Keith changed into his grease-stained overalls and work shoes; he came out onto the garage floor and took a look at the car that Lucas was working on.

"How's this going?" Keith handed Lucas a clamp.

"Fine. Mr. Kellerman said that he was having some trouble with stopping his car and it looks like he just needs to have the break pads replaced."

"Make sure that you check the piston seal for damage and the break line for cracks when you're done."

Lucas nodded.

"So we haven't really talked about your brother at all. It's been almost three months since Haley called me out of the blue to borrow my car. How are things going with him?" Keith asked.

"Everything's fine." Lucas scratched his head. "I was expecting it to be harder than it was, but Haley really helped me out and we're getting along."

"Is it hard for you at all, being around him?"

"Sometimes," Lucas admitted, "but it's getting better. I don't even really think about Dan when we're together anymore—well, at least not any more than usual."

They worked in silence for a while and then Lucas looked over at his uncle.

"Keith, did Dan ever . . . talk about me?"

The older man sighed quietly to himself and closed his eyes briefly before turning to Luke with a calm expression on his face. "I didn't really speak to Danny after he left Tree Hill. We've talked maybe six times in the last sixteen years. When I did speak to him I spent most of my time yelling and cursing him out."

Lucas smiled. "Really?"

Keith snorted. "I think you can tell that we haven't been close."

"Is . . ." Lucas looked down at his hands. "Do you wish things were different?"

"I don't know." Keith shrugged. "I would've wanted Dan to stay and take care of you and your mom, but if he had then Nathan wouldn't exist. I can't really bring myself to wish that."

Lucas looked thoughtful. "Neither can I."

The two worked companionably while Lucas thought to himself about the new routine that he'd fallen into. Nathan came over to the café almost every day now, and they'd usually go shoot hoops or play video games and it was great. They didn't talk much, though, and Nathan never really mentioned his father except in passing: "my dad had me run drills" or "my dad is gonna kill me if I'm late" was about as deep as it got.

But they'd spent more time together, especially now that Haley was usually working when Nathan came over. Sometimes it felt like he had hardly seen her over the past couple months. It seemed like she was always studying—even though she'd aced her winter trimester finals. Plus, she'd already done most of the work for all the classes she was taking in the spring.

Lately his curiosity about Dan had been getting the better of him and he'd had to stop himself from asking Nathan questions about his father. It was weird but that's how he saw Dan: he was Nathan's father.

Lucas pushed the piston back into the caliper and shook off his thoughts. He didn't need Dan—he'd always had Keith anyway.

Keith glanced at his watch and muttered, "Shoot."

"What?"

"I've got to mail some letters and get these bills taken care of tonight. I'm just going to run to the post office, I should be back in twenty minutes. You mind waiting?"

"Nope." Lucas looked at the car. "I think I've got at least a half hour's work left to do."

"Don't forget to put your face mask on while you're working on that."

"Come on, Keith, that thing covers my whole face and it's hot. I don't even really need it for a job like this."

"Look, you mother would never forgive me if a speck of rust got into your eye and blinded you, so just do it. I'll owe you one."

"Okay." Lucas shrugged and slid the mask on.

* * *

About ten minutes later Lucas heard the door open and called out, "That was quick. Did you call my mom and tell her that I'd be here late—"

Dan stood there just inside the door, his expression angry.

"Where's my brother?" he said.

Lucas just looked at him without speaking.

"Hello?" Dan asked impatiently.

"I don't know."

Lucas raised his face guard and the lines around Dan's eyes deepened a little as his face froze.

"Oh. It's you."

Lucas stared at him with an expression that might as well have been carved from stone. "I'll tell him you came by."

When he'd seen who it was Dan didn't look at him directly again, his gaze kept sliding around the room.

"What's his address?" Dan asked.

"Don't you know?" Lucas retreated into sarcasm. "I thought he was your brother."

"We don't keep in touch. But because my wife has been making _my son_spend time with him we have to have a discussion about that."

The emphasis wasn't lost on Lucas and he turned his back on his father to go back to work. "Look it up yourself, he's in the book under Scott. I'm guessing you still know what his first name is."

Lucas went back to his work and didn't look around until he was sure that Dan had gone. When he heard the door close behind his father he straightened up and looked at the wrench in his hand for a minute before turning and throwing it at the wall as hard as he could.

* * *

"My dad doesn't talk about you," Nathan said.

"Really." Lucas kept his voice light and unconcerned.

"I asked him about coming with me but he said no."

"Well, that's okay." Lucas smiled over at him. "I like hanging out with you."

Nathan flushed a little with pleasure and took a shot. Nothing but net.

"I heard my dad talking to my mom, though. He said that I should be spending more time practicing."

"What do you want to do?"

"I like coming to the café, Haley's always there and your mom's nice."

"She is, isn't she."

Nathan studied the ball for a minute before turning to look at his older brother. Lucas was struck by the fact that he suddenly looked much older.

"Are you mad at him?"

"Who? Dan?"

Nathan nodded.

Lucas took a deep breath and looked off to the side, searching for something to say. Searching for a way to explain to a ten-year-old boy that he hated his father's guts. He opted for honesty.

"Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder why he didn't want to see me."

"Is it my fault?"

Lucas was floored. "No! Of course it's not your fault, it isn't anybody's fault.

"Sometimes I hear my parents arguing about it, my mom says that my dad should be ashamed of the way he's acted. But maybe my dad would have come back if I wasn't born."

"Nathan, look, it's really complicated and I can't even pretend that I have any answers. I guess Dan did what he thought he had to. But the only thing that really matters to me is that you're my brother and that I kinda like you."

Nathan made a face. "That's sappy."

Lucas laughed and laughed; the tension between his shoulder blades eased. "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

The brothers headed back to the café and arrived just as Haley was getting ready to leave.

"Hey Scotts," she said.

"Hales." Lucas smiled.

"Hi, Haley." Nathan grinned.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked.

"I'm just on my way home." Haley hitched her backpack strap higher on her shoulder. "I've got a test to study for."

"Oh? What class?"

"AP History."

"Why don't you hang with us for a little while?"

"I would, but I'd really like to get started."

"I know that you don't have that test for at least two weeks!"

"And?" Haley looked at Lucas like he was crazy.

Lucas sighed. "Okay."

Haley smiled at Nathan. "So you won the game, didn't you?"

"Why do you always assume that, Hales?" Lucas pretended to be angry.

"Naw." Nathan shook his head with disappointment. "He got me this time."

"Damn straight L.B.," Lucas said.

"L.B.?" Haley cocked an eyebrow at him. "What does that mean?"

"Little Brother," Lucas answered. "I've been calling him that for a while now—I came up with it a couple weeks ago."

"Really? I thought it was some basketball reference."

"Like what?" Lucas asked, amused.

"I don't know. Larry Bird?"

Lucas and Nathan both laughed.

"I'm glad I can amuse you." Haley suppressed a grin. "I'll see you later."

The brothers watched her go: one with a slightly worried look on his face, and the other with a little wistfulness.

* * *

Haley was helping Karen out at the café; one of the waitresses had called in sick at the last minute and she was filling in.

"I'll have you out of here as soon as possible," Karen promised. "You'll be able to salvage what's left of your Saturday."

"Don't even worry about it." Haley slid an order slip over to the cook.

"Haley!" A small voice from across the room made itself heard over the chatter in the room.

Karen grinned, "How does he always know when you're here?"

Haley smiled and shook her head. "I have no idea."

She turned and caught herself on a chair as the young man launched himself into her arms. She hugged him tightly and smiled down at him.

"Hey, Heartbreaker."

Nathan grinned up at her. "Why do you always call me that?"

"Because that's what you're going to be once you grow up and start using those beautiful baby blues on the women."

Nathan crinkled up his nose and Haley laughed. "What, you don't believe me?"

Nathan shrugged and looked down at the floor as Karen looked teasingly at him. "Oh, we're not going to have to wait until he grows up, he already has two girls fighting over him."

"Aunt Karen . . ." Nathan muttered.

"What's this?" Haley looked at Nathan sternly. "Gossip, and you haven't told me? You will be punished for keeping something this good to yourself."

"It's nothin' Haley. Really."

"I'm sure. Spill Karen."

"Well," she leaned in conspiratorially, "I heard that Kristy Demroke—you know Bill and Sara's youngest daughter?—and her former friend Holly Wernike were working with our Nathan on a class project. What kind of project was it, Nathan?"

Nathan was silent, glancing anxiously up at Haley. She smiled at him, sympathetic to his discomfort, and put one arm around him. He rested his head on her shoulder and confessed, "It was a global warming thing for the science fair."

"Right!" Karen laughed. "Kristy let it spill to her friend Holly that she was going to ask Nathan to 'go with' her during recess, not knowing that Holly has been carrying a torch for little boy blue."

Nathan looked like he wanted to die and burrowed further into Haley's side.

"So before recess Holly corners Nate, figuring that if she gets to him first—"

"She can cut out Kristy before she gets her hooks in him," Haley said with mock horror.

"Exactly. Nathan, unknowingly caught in the middle of this triangle, agrees to start seeing Holly and now Kristy won't speak to either of them."

Haley laughed as Nathan turned bright red.

"I said that I just wanted to be friends." He rolled his eyes. "Women are just trouble."

Karen and Haley laughed hysterically and Nathan gave up trying to talk to them.

"I'm going down to the Rivercourt to meet Lucas, Haley. D'you wanna to come?"

"Sorry sweetie, I've got to work." Nathan's face fell but then she added, "But maybe you, your brother, and I can go see that new movie . . . what's it called . . . Hellboy, tomorrow."

Nathan's grin wiped the disappointed expression off his face. "Really?"

"Please, when do I lie?"

"Never."

"I've taught you well. Go play, I'll see you later."

Nathan smiled widely and sped out of the café. Haley turned back to her boss. "God, the drama of grade school."

"I'm so glad that Lucas is almost old enough to be past it."

Haley shook her head. "I'm sorry, Karen, but it looks like Luke might not grow out of anything. He's a smart enough guy but whenever he gets around girls it's like there's a dial in his brain that gets turned to 'stupid.' It's very sad."

She sighed. "Really?"

Haley patted her arm. "Don't worry, I'll look out for him."

Karen rang up a customer's order and handed him his coffee and doughnut while Haley bussed the dishes off the counter and carried them into the kitchen. When she came back out she glanced around. The lunch rush was over and there were only a few people in the café who were sipping coffee as they read their newspapers and their books.

Haley sat down and looked over at Karen.

"You look a little tired Karen, are you okay?"

"I'm fine . . . I'm just a little worried about Lucas."

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he ran into his father a few months ago but he's not talking about it."

"Months ago?"

"Yes, he just told me. Well, I don't think that he intended to tell me. I was talking about how it's a little strange that we haven't run into his father and he said that he had seen him."

"What happened?"

"I have no idea. He won't say one word about what Dan said to him."

Haley sighed. "What a jackass that man is."

Karen laughed humorlessly. "Yeah."

"I'll talk to Lucas. If he doesn't tell me I'll torture it out of him."

Karen's laugh was genuine this time but the hilarity fell off her face when she saw Haley's serious expression.

"Haley? I'd appreciate it if you didn't do anything to damage my son."

"Oh, Karen, I'm a professional. I never leave any physical evidence."

"And this is the part of the conversation where I get scared and run into the kitchen." Karen picked up a tub full of dirty dishes and retreated into the back.

* * *

Lucas caught up with Haley at her house the next day. She was still in bed at noon—rare for her—and he lay down on her mattress next to her.

"Hey, Luke."

Lucas didn't reply right away and then he said, "So Nathan told me that you want to go see a movie with us today?"

"Oh, sorry. I should have called you. But if you two want to go on your own I understand."

"Hales, look, are you mad at me or something?"

"Mad at you? For what?"

"I'm hoping you're going to tell me."

"I'm not mad. Why would you think that I was?"

"You've been hanging out with Jamie Lynn and her crowd a lot, I hardly see you."

"Well, you're busy with basketball, Nathan, and everything. I have tutoring and school. It's just been hectic."

"Nathan keeps asking me why you don't want to come with us anywhere anymore."

Haley looked at him with surprise. "I thought you guys wanted to spend some time together, you know, just the two of you."

"We do, but not all the time. I mean, it's not the same without you there."

"Really?"

"Of course. What do you think?"

"I thought that you guys were having a great time."

"We are, but it'd be better if you weren't avoiding us."

"I'm not avoiding you, I'm just giving you your space."

"Well, you've given us too much space. Quit it."

"Okay." Haley smiled. "But I figured that you two need to bond, you shouldn't feel like you need a buffer there."

"I don't," Lucas said.

Haley remained silent.

"Okay, I did, but I don't anymore. We're getting along great."

"I guess I can grace you with my presence . . ." Haley was going to say more but Lucas hit her in the face with a pillow.


	8. Chapter 8 Separations And Goodbyes

**Chapter 8 Separations And Goodbyes**

"So what college are you planning on applying to?" Lucas asked.

"Stanford, Duke, Columbia, and Emory," Haley replied.

"But Stanford is the one you really want, right?"

"Yeah, that's my dream school."

Lucas dipped his chicken finger in barbeque sauce. "I don't know why you like that school so much. I mean, just because you like the people isn't that great a reason to go there."

"Don't talk with your mouth full. That's not the only reason."

"Haley!"

"Nathan." She turned and smiled as Nathan hopped up on a seat next to his brother.

"What do you want?" Haley asked. Nathan opened his mouth and she cut him off. "Wait, let me guess." Haley hummed and closed her eyes as she held an open palm to Nathan's forehead. "I'm sensing that you want . . . a burger with pickles, onions, mayo, and bacon."

Nathan laughed. "How'd you know?"

"Please. I have skills."

"Hello to you too," Lucas said. "No need to speak to me, I'm just your brother.

"Oh, hey, Lucas."

Haley told the cook to fry up a burger for Nathan and brought out a plate of fries for him.

Nathan grabbed the ketchup and poured it carefully onto his plate. The last time that he'd been here he'd shaken the bottle a little too much and had gotten ketchup all over. Haley hadn't gotten mad but he'd felt bad that she'd had to clean it up for him.

He watched as she and his brother talked and laughed as he ate. Haley was the prettiest girl that he knew and she was a lot nicer than most of the ones in his class who would not stop hitting him, or taking stuff from him, or dropping pencils whenever he walked by.

"Nathan, your mom said that she's going to be picking you up earlier than usual today because of some banquet you're going to?" Haley said.

Nathan groaned. "Yeah. Every year there's a businessman something dinner and we have to go."

"Sounds boring," Lucas said.

"Maybe we should cancel the burger if you're going to eat there," Haley said.

"I never eat there, the food is like . . . last year for the main course they had this tiny piece of duck covered with some weird yellow sauce. I couldn't even eat it, it was so bad. And then some guy gets up and talks for two hours about nothing and makes jokes that aren't even funny but everybody still laughs."

"Sucks to be you." Lucas stole a fry off his plate.

"You could have a little more sympathy," Haley scolded. "Remember all those times your mom dragged you to have dinner with her PTA friends?"

Lucas took his own dishes into the kitchen. "Please stop talking about that, I might have a traumatic flashback."

Outside Deb pulled up in her car, put one hand out the window and waved.

"She's here, go grab your stuff and I'll pack this up for you." Haley pulled out a to-go box.

"Thanks." Nathan rushed into the back to grab his backpack.

"Why is it," Lucas said when he came back from the kitchen, "that he likes you more than he likes me?"

"Everybody likes me more than they like you," Haley said. "Your own mom would swap us out in a second."

Lucas opened his mouth to reply but then Nathan rushed out and after a couple quick good-byes he hopped into his mother's car.

Nathan, Haley, and Lucas were walking over to Haley's house from the arcade when Lucas picked up the conversation they were having yesterday again.

"Hales, you should think about colleges that are in this part of the country, I mean, there are a lot of really good schools here."

"Luke," Haley hesitated, "I applied for early admission to Stanford . . . and I got in."

Lucas stopped, stunned.

"You're moving to California?" Nathan asked. He'd gone online and looked at where all the colleges Haley was interested in were. When she said that she'd applied to Duke he'd been ecstatic, it was only a two-hour drive from Tree Hill.

"Yeah, but, I'll be coming back every chance I get and I'll be here all summer working at the café like I always do," Haley said.

"Well . . . congratulations," Lucas said. He was silent the rest of the way home.

* * *

Things had been quiet between Haley and Lucas over the past week or so. Nathan had thought about talking to his mom or Karen about it but he wasn't sure about what to say.

They were over at the café tonight because Deb had had an argument with his father. He hadn't heard them fight, they never did it in front of him or where he could hear, but he could always tell when it happened. There was a different feeling in the air and his mom usually left to take a drive or to visit Karen. Nathan had tagged along this time, hoping to see Haley, but to his disappointment she wasn't there. Karen told him that he could go out on the roof to play with the miniature golf course that Haley had set up there and he'd pounded up the stairs while both women laughed at his exuberance.

Haley had done an incredible job, the place looked almost as good as the course his parents had taken him to when they'd gone to visit his grandparents in California.

He went back downstairs to talk to his mom and he had his hand up to open the door when he heard his name and he froze for a minute.

"So I heard that Haley's already been accepted to Stanford."

Nathan just stood there quietly and listened.

"Haley's going to really miss the boys but she's dead set on that college; her mother told me that Haley's been packed and ready to go there for years." Karen stirred her coffee thoughtfully.

"You should have seen the look on Nathan's face when he really realized how far way Stanford is. He's going to have to find a new love."

"I don't think so," Karen teased. "I give him three weeks before we find out that he's hopped on plane to California to see her."

Both women laughed heartily together and Nathan stepped back. He went up the stairs, walked out onto the roof, sat down on one of the chairs, and stared at the fake turf.

* * *

After school the next day Nathan walked down to the riverside instead of going to the café. Nathan stared out at the water without seeing it; after listening to Karen and his mom talk about how "cute" his feelings were he'd felt the need to be alone.

Did Haley feel that way? He'd always thought that she really liked him, but maybe she was just putting up with her friend's little brother. He shook the thought off. No, Haley wasn't like that. She didn't go out of her way to hang out with people she didn't like.

He resolved to keep what he felt under wraps, at least around other people. He'd make an effort to make sure he was alone with Haley when he talked to her. She teased him a lot but she always took him seriously—like he was Lucas.

* * *

School was out, Lucas had finished practice, and Haley said goodbye to the last student in the tutor center. They were walking to the café together when a young man called out.

"Haley!"

She turned around with a quizzical look on her face and then smiled when she saw who it was.

"Jamie, what are you doing here so late?"

"My dad came to talk to the principal, he's thinking about making a donation to the school to pay for some new equipment for the gym, and I got dragged along. Hey, Lucas."

Lucas smiled tightly.

"Oh, that's great. All I hear from him," Haley jerked her head at Lucas, "is how much the weight room sucks. Tell your dad I said hi and that I'll be forever grateful for those Bobcats tickets he got me."

Jamie nodded. "Hey, I'm just glad I could do something for you."

"They were really great, I owe him one."

"Are you kidding? You managed to get me off academic probation; I think he loves you more than he loves me. He keeps dropping what he thinks are subtle hints about how I should take you out to dinner to thank you."

Haley blushed slightly and laughed. "I have a strict no dating policy when it comes to my tutees."

"You're not tutoring me anymore, and I'm hoping you might be free this Friday."

Lucas eyed Jamie unfavorably. "We're doing something then, maybe some other time."

Jamie shrugged. "We will get together soon," he smiled at Haley again, "I'll call you later."

As he walked away Lucas rounded on Haley. "That's the guy you got our tickets from?"

"Yeah. What is your problem, Luke?"

"My problem? He's the biggest man-whore in school, Hales."

"So? I'm not dating him."

"He just asked you out."

"Did you see me say yes?"

Lucas lapsed into silence as they walked back to the café. When they walked in Nathan was already there and they both said hello. Lucas gave him the fist pound and Haley hugged him.

"Hey, honey." Karen picked a piece of lint off her son's shirt. "How was your day?"

"Great. I just found out that Haley's thinking about going out with the biggest jerk in school."

Karen looked shocked and Nathan's face fell.

"Gonna kill you, Luke," Haley sighed.

"Haley," Karen was hesitant, "have you met . . . someone?"

Nathan laid his hand over hers. "Is there something wrong with this guy?"

"Don't listen to him, Karen." Haley punched Lucas on the arm. "You see what you did? Now you've got your mom and your brother thinking that I'm being pimped out or something."

"What!" Nathan was shocked.

"Kidding," Haley said quickly. "A guy I used to tutor asked me out but I said no."

"No you didn't, all you said was that you were doing something this weekend."

"No, Luke, _you_ said that."

"Nice job, Lucas," Nathan said sincerely.

"Thanks, L.B." Lucas gave Nathan another very manly fist pound.

"Haley, I realize that sometimes guys can be very charming on the outside—"

"Karen, we're not dating. Everyone relax. Jeeze, you all act like I've never dealt with the opposite sex or something. I have been on a date or two in my life, thank you," Haley huffed.

She went into the back, leaving everyone else to stare after her with worry.


	9. Chapter 9 Drawing Apart

**Chapter 9 Drawing Apart**

_June 8, 2004_

Haley adjusted her cap in Lucas' mirror while he shrugged on his robe.

"I can't believe that we're graduating today, can you?" Haley said.

Lucas smiled and nodded wanly and Haley turned on him in exasperation. "Do you think you can at least _try_ to work up a little enthusiasm? You're really bringing me down."

"I'm excited," Lucas deadpanned. His tone wouldn't have fooled anyone, let alone his best friend.

"What is going on with you? You've been accepted to Duke, you're getting a full ride, why aren't you happier?"

"Because everything's changing, Hales."

"Yeah?"

"You're going to be on another coast."

"You think that's going to matter?" Haley looked like she wanted to smack Lucas. "We're always going to be friends, no amount of space is going to change that."

"Sometimes it does."

"And sometimes it doesn't."

"You don't really know what's going to happen, no one does."

"So this is why you've been so blah about me getting into Stanford?" Haley was really angry now. "When you got into the college you wanted I was excited for you. You can't suck it up and show a little for me?"

"You're happy to be leaving," Lucas glared at her. "You want to go somewhere completely new and start over, and that's great and I want you to be happy, I really do, but don't ask me to pretend to feel something I don't."

"I'm not asking you to pretend—"

"Yes you are! You want me to chat about all the great things we'll be doing but I like my life here, Hales. Everyone I care about is here and now I'm leaving it behind."

"You're only two hours away, Luke." Haley snorted.

"Forget it." Lucas walked out of the room and shut the door with a little more force than necessary.

After she got home Haley sat in her room and fumed for a good hour before leaving her house and walking into Karen's kitchen without knocking. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Lucas or hit him over the head with one of his mother's cookie pans.

"Luke!" she called.

"Haley?" Keith said. His voice came from the sitting room and Haley joined him.

"Hey, do you know where Luke is?"

"I think that he and his mom ran out to get some drinks for the party later."

"Fine." Haley puffed out a breath.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just . . . Luke and I had this stupid fight about me moving away."

"Ah."

"I can't believe he thinks it's going to be an issue!"

"Lucas doesn't have a huge extended family or siblings living in different parts of the country," Keith said kindly. "Your family is scattered all over so you're used to maintaining those bonds in spite of the distance. But he's seen firsthand how families break apart. My brother and I are living in the same town and we hardly speak to each other, and Karen doesn't even have any family to ignore."

Haley closed her eyes. "I'm an idiot."

"No—"

"I am. I just . . . assumed that Lucas saw it the same way I did. I mean, this year my parents have spent more time on the road than they did at home but it didn't change anything. I know Lucas and I are always going to be close, I didn't even think about how he might feel about it. That he might be scared."

"Well, maybe he could have told you that instead of letting it get to the point where you'd fight about it."

"With me bopping around about how excited I am to be leaving?" Haley shook her head.

"Keith glanced at his watch. "You guys are going to be fine, but if you don't hurry you're going to miss your graduation."

"I'll see you there."

"Hold on, I'll drop you off at home."

Haley sat in her chair on the floor of the gymnasium and craned her neck around, trying to see Lucas, but they were sitting in alphabetical order and Lucas was sitting in the far, far back. She turned around and twisted her hands together and looked over into the bleachers. Her parents were sitting there along with Karen, Deb, and Nathan. She smiled over at them and her mom picked up her camera and snapped a picture.

Joshua Haglen stood up from his seat beside her and made his way down the aisle. Haley faced the front and sighed. She hadn't been able to find Luke in the crush of people and now she was about to graduate with him still mad at her.

"Haley James," said the principal.

Haley smiled automatically and walked up to accept the leather binder that would hold her diploma and shook his hand. She shook the hand of her favorite English teacher, smiled for her mother, who'd moved as close to the podium as possible to get another picture, and made her way back to her seat.

Before she sat down she heard a piercing whistle coming from the back.

"Way to go Haley!" Lucas shouted.

Haley grinned and turned around in her seat. She still couldn't see him, but this time it didn't matter so much.

"I present to you the class of 2005!"

The room erupted with noise, balloons dropped from the ceiling and caps flew up into the air. Haley fought her way over to her grinning parents. Lydia had tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry," Haley hugged her mom, "unless you're pregnant, you'll never have to do this again!"

Lydia sniffled and hugged her daughter back tightly. "My baby."

Jimmy hugged his daughter and held out his cell. "Your brothers are on the line, they want to talk to you."

Haley picked up the phone and accepted their congratulations then hugged Karen, Deb, and Nathan in turn.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and when she turned around her best friend was standing there, looking a little hesitant. She rushed forward and hugged him fiercely.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Me too." Lucas grinned sheepishly.

"I should have realized—"

"Yeah." Lucas put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go eat."


	10. Chapter 10 Feelings Change

**Chapter 10 Feelings**

_March 14, 2007  
_

Haley walked up to Dan and Deb's door and looked around apprehensively. She'd been so surprised when Deb had called and asked her to come over but she sounded so frazzled that she couldn't say no.

Deb yanked the door open when she knocked and when she saw who it was an expression of relief eased some of the tension in her face.

"Thank you so much for coming."

"It sounded like you were about to pull out your hair and I couldn't let that happen."

"The person that was supposed to be here cancelled and it's not that Nathan really needs a babysitter—you don't think someone who's thirteen really needs one do you? I'm really sorry to bother you while you're on break." Haley opened her mouth to answer but Deb just kept talking nervously. "But I get nervous when he's in the house alone. It's just that Dan's off in Florida again and I couldn't get out of this meeting I have to fly out for."

"Oh, it's no problem, Deb. It'll be fun," Haley smiled at Nathan as he came down the stairs, "I can drill him on his verb tenses all night."

Nathan groaned and pretended to throw himself down the stairs as Haley laughed.

"Nathan's been doing better than he ever has in his English class, he told me that you've been tutoring him." Deb smiled for the first time that night.

"Oh, not really. I just help him out a little when he's doing his homework while I'm working."

"I swear, Haley, getting that boy to sit down and finish his assignments was like pulling teeth and now he does it voluntarily. You've got to bottle whatever it is that you've got and give it to me."

Haley laughed. "Eau de Haley. I'm sure it would sell like crazy."

Deb sat down and put her head in her hands. "Thanks for this, I know that it's last minute."

"Stop, Deb. I said that it was no problem and I meant it. Nathan's my boy. I love hanging out with him."

Nathan felt a warm rush of pleasure hearing that and smiled at Haley—but he was careful to make sure that it wasn't too wide.

"Okay." Deb grabbed her carry-on bag and a medium sized suitcase. "I'll be back late Sunday night. Don't give Haley any trouble." Deb bent down and kissed her son on the head before rushing out the door.

Haley turned to Nathan. "We'll play Final Fantasy for half an hour and then you have to do your homework."

"Deal," Nathan said.

* * *

Sunday night Haley had run out to the store to grab some things to make dinner and when she came back she heard raised voices and hurried inside.

". . . so you just left our son at home by himself so you could run off to a stupid meeting?!"

"I didn't leave him by himself! Haley's an incredibly responsible person—"

"Really? I don't see her here. It's bad enough that you have him over at that little coffee shop all damn day but do you really need to invite those people into our house—"

Haley stepped into the living room, her heart beating a little faster than usual. "I just ran out to get some things for dinner."

Haley hitched the grocery bag up higher in her arms. Dan looked even more furious, if that was possible. Deb crossed her arms and glared at her husband before turning to her.

"Thank you, Haley. Is it okay if I write you a check? Just let me see how much the groceries were and I'll add it in."

"Oh, that's okay—"

"I insist."

"Sure." Haley handed over the receipt. "Um, I'm going to take off since you guys are here. I just need to use the bathroom."

"Of course."

Haley walked past a still silent Dan and went upstairs. She walked past the bathroom into Nathan's bedroom and saw him there, lying face down on the bed.

"Nathan?"

He turned over with surprise. "Hey."

"I'm going to head out."

Nathan nodded, "I thought so."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said casually.

Haley looked at him closely, and Nathan struggled to keep his thoughts off his face. They'd spent the entire weekend playing video games, studying, and laughing. Haley was a great cook, she must have picked up a lot working with Karen, and he'd never had so much fun. Ever. As Sunday night approached he'd felt sad but looked forward to one last dinner, Haley had promised that she made the best spaghetti and meatballs. Then his parents had both come home, almost at the same time, and he'd known as soon as they'd walked in the door that his last night with Haley was ruined.

"Do your parents fight like this a lot?"

Nathan shrugged. "Sometimes. They usually don't do it in front of me, though."

Haley nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Sure." Nathan smiled.

Haley turned and left, suddenly wishing that she could take him with her. Deb handed her a check and smiled: it was friendly but her eyes were still angry. Haley shut the door quietly behind her.

* * *

_May 26, 2007  
_

Nathan glanced at his calendar. His school year was finally almost over, there were only two more days until the last day on the Stanford schedule, and then Haley would be home the day after. He leaned back in his chair, thinking about everything they'd done last summer, and smiled to himself. He had to put up with Dan nine months out of the year, alone, but when she came back it was like everything else faded into the background.

He sat at Karen's counter, finishing a shake that she'd insisted on giving him. He had drank them down like they were going out of style when he was twelve and his surrogate aunt would not be convinced that he'd grown out of needing one every day—even though he was fourteen.

"Lucas is going to be home in a couple days." Karen shook the whip cream canister and topped off a sundae.

"I thought his finals were over."

"They are, but he needed to stay for a few extra days for some reason."

"He's going to miss Haley's grand entrance." Nathan grinned. "You know how much she hates that."

Someone came up behind Nathan and covered his eyes with their hands.

"Haley." Nathan smiled.

"How'd you know?"

Nathan spun around on his stool. "You're the only person who does that."

Nathan stood up and Haley hugged him. She eyed him as she stood back and looked up at him. "Look at you. You're six inches taller, at least."

"I think it's because Karen keeps making me drink her milkshakes."

Karen came around the counter to give Haley a hug. "I can't believe you're back! I thought you still had finals."

"I turned in my final paper early so I didn't need to stick around for the rest of the week."

"This is perfect. Lucas will be home in a couple days. It's going to be so great having all three of you here over the summer."

"Well . . ." Haley hesitated. "I wish that I could stay, but I'm going to be flying back to California after two weeks."

Nathan felt his stomach drop.

"What?" Karen asked. "Why?"

"I have this huge opportunity," Haley said earnestly. "There's a summer internship that's being offered. One of my English professors is publishing a book about contemporary American authors and she needs students to help her with her research. I just barely got in at the last minute."

"That's incredible." Karen took Haley's hands. "Of course you can't pass that up. I'm just sorry that you can't be here where I can stuff you with cookies."

"Congratulations," Nathan said.

Nathan maintained the façade that was becoming easier and easier to put on. As Haley talked excitedly about her new project he searched for something to say. He needed her here, but even he could have found the words to tell her that, he didn't have the right to say them. Two weeks here and then she'd be gone again until next year, unless something else came up.

Of course something else would come up, she was in a college that was on the other side of the country, eventually she probably wouldn't come back at all. Nathan swallowed as something became clear: Haley was growing away from her life in Tree Hill. She still cared about them, sure, but more of her life was in California now. And with her parents planning on selling the house and moving after she graduated she would have even fewer reasons to come back to North Carolina.

* * *

_September 9, 2008_

Nathan walked into the gym of Tree Hill High with a fluttery feeling of anticipation. It felt like it was just yesterday that he'd been watching Lucas graduate from this school and now he was on his way to becoming a Raven and setting his own records.

It had been four years since Haley had gone to California but she stayed in touch over the school year and—except for the internship she'd had last year—each summer she was back in Tree Hill and the three of them hung out. Nathan was grateful that the distance hadn't changed anything between them. Plus, Duke was close enough that his brother was still always around.

His dad had been acting weird about it lately; before he'd been indifferent to what he did with Lucas but each year he seemed to become more disapproving, making comments about him only being a half-brother. He let whatever his dad said pass right over his head—most of the time.

Nathan heard the sound of a basketball being dribbled and his attention returned to the here and now. He stood with the rest of the freshman, waiting for the coach to talk.

"There are three rules on this court." Whitey glared at all the boys. "My word is law, my word is law, and my word is law. If I say you're going to be running offense drills, you run offense drills; if I say you're going to be working on your ball handling, you work on your ball handling."

Nathan snickered and the coach's attention snapped onto him.

"Is something funny Mr. Scott?"

"It's nothing, Coach."

"You've obviously been tickled by something that I said. Why don't you share it with the rest of us?"

"It's just . . . you said . . . ball handling."

The team broke out in laughter and the bland look on Whitey's face just encouraged the players to laugh even harder. After they'd calmed down the coach turned to them.

"You boys enjoy having a comedian on the team?"

Most of the players were wise enough to see what was coming and sobered up, but some were still grinning.

"Why don't you sit down over there and rest up Scott, think up some more jokes to make your teammates feel better after they finish running suicides for the next forty-five minutes."

"Coach!" One of the players exclaimed.

"If you feel like it's too much," Whitey pointed at the door, "you know where to go."

He blew one short burst on his whistle and the players all lined up, but not before shooting Nathan a couple death glares.

* * *

Nathan sighed and rested his head against the lockers. All the players had iced him out after practice. No one would even speak to him and he'd given up on trying to make a joke out of what happened as he pulled on his sneakers.

"Don't worry about it."

Nathan turned around and saw Tim Smith, one of the other freshman players.

"About what?"

"The guys will be pissed off for a couple days, tops. They'll forget about it soon."

"Thanks."

Tim walked off and Nathan grabbed his backpack and went outside to meet his mom.

"So, how did it go?" Deb asked.

Nathan shrugged. "It was okay. The coach is a little strict."

"Good strict or bad strict?"

"I can't tell yet."

"Well, honey, if you think you're being pushed too far I want you to tell me, okay?"

"It's fine Mom. Lucas told me that Whitey was a fair coach."

"That's right," Deb smiled, "I guess he can't be that bad then."

"Besides, Dad would kill me if I quit the team."

"Your father wants what's best for you, even if that means quitting the team."

Nathan just looked at his mother without replying to thatsaying anything and Deb cleared her throat. "Do you mind hanging out with Karen for a an hour while I go pick up some things I forgot at the office?"

"No, I'm starving," Nathan said eagerly.

"I can cook when we get home," Deb offered.

Nathan gave his mom a pitying look and didn't say anything.

"Karen's been giving me tips," Deb said defensively.

Nathan just shook his head. "That's okay, Mom."

"My own son turns on me," Deb muttered.

* * *

Lucas' classes had started a week before Nathan's and he'd spent his first day talking to his professors—even though he knew he didn't really have to. He was starting his senior year at Duke and he knew the campus like the back of his hand.

He was sitting outside with a sandwich that he'd bought at the student union and enjoying what was left of the summer warmth.

A pretty brown-haired girl sat down next to him with a flirtatious look and crossed her legs. Lucas glanced over at her for a moment before focusing on his lunch again.

"Come on," she said.

"Excuse me?" Lucas looked up.

"Whatever you're eating can't be more interesting than me."

"Sorry," Lucas was a little thrown and then he grinned. "But this is an _incredible_ sandwich."

"Oh?" The girl moved closer. "What's in it?"

"Roast beef, tomato, lettuce, provolone cheese . . ."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, it is."

"So what's your name?"

"Lucas Scott."

She put out a hand and he shook it. "What's yours?" he asked.

"Brooke Davis."

Just then his phone rang and he snapped it open to check who was calling. "I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"I should get going anyway." Brooke stood up and dusted off the back of her jeans. "I'm missing class right now."

Lucas looked scandalized. "But it's only the second week!"

"Well, if I'm going to miss anything, it's better to do it now instead of later, right?"

Lucas blinked and Brooke pressed a piece of paper in his hand. "Here's my number."

She walked away, hips swaying slightly, and Lucas looked after her and was startled when the phone stopped ringing.

"Shoot." Lucas hit redial.

"Luke?"

"Hey, Hales."

"Hey! So what's going on, did you get out of your room long enough to actually meet somebody?"

"Actually, I just did."

"Oh, so that's why you didn't pick up. A girl, right? And you're interested."

"How can you tell when you're sixteen states away?"

"Because when the Lucas Scott I know asks me to call him at a certain time and doesn't pick up, it means that he's very distracted."

"I'm glad I'm so predictable."

"So, what's up? Why did you want me to call?"

"Today is Nathan's first day at our beloved Tree Hill High."

"I'm rolling my eyes at you right now Luke. 'Beloved'? Whatever."

"I thought that we'd call him together and wish him luck with Whitey.

"Oh, I meant to call but I forgot."

"Forgetting us already?" Lucas teased.

"No!" Haley's tone wasn't very playful and Lucas' voice became more soothing.

"I was just kidding."

"I know. Sorry to be so touchy."

Lucas called his mother on three-way and she answered on the first ring. "Karen's Café"

"Mom, it's me."

"Luke." Karen held the phone to her ear with her shoulder while she set two lunch specials in front of her customers. "Nice of you to call your mother."

"Hi, Karen," Haley spoke up.

"Haley! What are you doing on the line?"

"We're just calling to talk to Nathan on his first day of high school," Lucas said.

"Oh no, I can't believe that I forgot that it was today.

"See," Haley said smugly, "I'm not the only one."

"Your timing is great," Karen said. "Nathan just walked in with his mom."

Nathan sat on at the counter next to Deb and Karen came over with a cup of coffee for her and a menu for Nathan.

"I've got to run back to the office for a minute, do you mind feeding my son?" Deb asked.

"I'm not sure if we have enough food in the kitchen," Karen teased.

Nathan laughed. "I don't eat that much," he turned to his mother, "do I?"

"You're a growing boy." His mother smiled as she got up.

"I think this is for you." Karen handed over the phone.

"Hello?" Nathan said.

"How was your first day, Heartbreaker?"

"Haley!" Nathan was thrown for a minute and then he smiled widely.

"How is Whitey treating you?" Lucas asked.

"Luke!" Nathan leaned an elbow on the table. "You could have warned me about Whitey's sense of humor."

"He doesn't have one."

"I know that now."

"What did you do?" Haley asked.

"I just made a little joke . . ."

"On the first day?" Lucas asked, incredulous.

"I was just trying to break the tension, the other guys thought it was funny."

"What'd Whitey do to them?"

"He made them run suicides while I watched."

"Ooh. I don't know what to tell you. Too bad, the next four years are going to be hell for you."

Nathan groaned.

"Don't scare him, Luke," Haley interjected. "Whitey's not that bad once you get to know him."

"Just because he was nice to you doesn't mean a thing. He rode me just as hard my senior year as he did my freshman year."

"Well, you know how you are," she dismissed. Lucas humphed and Haley asked, "So, other than pissing off the man who's going to hold your life in his hands for the next four years, how are things?"

"Fine, I got all my schoolwork lined up already." Nathan answered.

"I'm so proud, young grasshopper," Haley smiled, "I've taught you well."

"Oh, no, _I'm_ the one who taught him what to do during the first week of school," Lucas argued.

"No you're not."

Nathan stepped in before the fight could escalate. "What about you two? How's California?"

"It's great, I think I've finally settled on a major," Haley said.

Lucas gasped with shock.

"Shut up."

The three of them talked on for an hour and Nathan listened to them while he ate. He finally had to hang up when Deb came back, saying goodbye to Haley reluctantly but not before extracting a promise from her to visit soon.

* * *

Nathan and Deb walked into the house and she sighed as she kicked her heels off. Nathan ran up to his room while she fell onto the couch.

"How was his first practice?" Dan asked.

Deb twisted around in her seat and saw her husband setting his briefcase on the floor.

"When did you get home?"

"I just walked in."

"Ah, he says it was fine. Apparently Whitey's an institution."

Dan snorted briefly. "He was old when he was coaching _me_."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a thousand years." Dan groaned as he sat down on the couch and took his wife's feet in his hands. Deb made a small sound of pleasure when he began to rub them.

"Today felt like the first time we dropped him off at kindergarten." Deb smiled. "Remember?"

"You wouldn't stop crying."

"You shed some tears too, Dan. Don't think I didn't see you."

"I did not," Dan laughed.

Deb hadn't remembered feeling this comfortable around her husband for a long time.

"Nathan seems really excited to be at that school," Deb mused.

"Well, his father went there," Dan said proudly.

"His brother did, too."

Dan stiffened. "Why did you have to bring that up?"

He moved Deb's feet out of his lap.

"I was just saying . . ." Dan stood up and Deb rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I forgot for five seconds that I'm supposed to pretend that Lucas doesn't exist."

"You just can't miss taking an opportunity to throw it in my face."

"I wasn't throwing anything in your face! Believe it or not Dan, I was just making a comment. I didn't mean anything by it, so if you're feeling guilty that's on you."

"Here we go." Dan stood up. "Why don't you start making a comment about what kind of father I am and I can talk about what kind of mother you are."

"Say what you want to about me, I would never just walk away from any child of mine," Deb said coldly.

"I'm going to ask Nathan about practice." Dan walked out of the room.

* * *

_October 30, 2008_

Nathan sighed as he walked down the sidewalk. He'd just finished his run and luckily it wasn't that cold—even though it was October. The past month had been the hardest of his life. He had Whitey riding him during practice and his dad riding him at home. He thought his father had been bad before, but now that he was in high school it was like he expected him to be the perfect athlete. His mother kept Dan in check, mostly, every once in a while she would step in and they'd escape to the café. He spent more time there than he did at home now. Lucas was home almost every weekend and he spent as much time with him as he could. But he still missed Haley. She called all the time but it wasn't the same as having her here. Nathan perked up a little—at least she was visiting Tree Hill for the next couple days.

Nathan walked up to the James' door and knocked. Lydia smiled at him when she opened her door.

"Haley's upstairs."

"Thanks Mrs. James."

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to call me Lydia?"

"At least one more time." Nathan smiled.

He made his way up the stairs and then stopped dead in the hallway. Haley's door was ajar and Nathan swallowed. She was wearing a Halloween costume. He wasn't sure what she was, exactly, but it was very flattering.

"Tay, this is not the outfit I asked you to pick up for me. I wanted Sandy from _Grease_, remember?"

"Why would you want to wear that crap? It doesn't look nearly as hot on you as this does. Besides, this one is much more historical. I thought that you'd like it. And you didn't give me that much notice. I had no idea you were flying out here for Halloween."

Taylor had picked out a pirate wench's costume. Haley wore a white shirt with puffed sleeves that exposed her shoulders. Over it was a leather bustier that laced up in the front. Her skirt was long and red and fell down to her ankle-high black leather boots. The heels were at least two-and-a-half inches long and they made her legs look incredible. A black and white striped scarf that was wrapped around her head topped off the ensemble. Nathan just stood outside her room and took it all in.

"But—"

"Now if you'd just pull the shirt down a little and show just a little of your brea—"

Nathan knocked on the door softly.

"Nate!" Haley turned and bumped fists with him.

"I was wondering if you could take a look at the paper I have to turn in for my American lit class. I can come back later."

"No, I'm not really busy. I was just getting ready for this party tomorrow and my sister was supposed to be helping me." Haley glared at Taylor.

She scoffed. "You love vamping out every once in a while, don't pretend that you don't. I know you Hales, everyone thinks you're such a straight arrow, but you have your wild side, too. Don't you think she looks hot Nate?"

"You don't have to answer that Nathan." Haley threw one of her stuffed animals at Taylor's head. "Don't do that, Tay. Remember when you asked Lucas to help me pick out a bathing suit? It made him twitchy for weeks. He wouldn't even look me in the eye, he was so traumatized."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I swear, Lucas is more of a brother to you than our brothers. But that little set-up wasn't my idea."

Haley sat down at her desk with Nathan's paper and pulled out a red pen.

"What are you talking about?"

Nathan sat down on the floor and tried to be inconspicuous.

"Mom would not let go of the idea that you and Lucas were meant to be together."

Haley made a face and Nathan's jaw clenched slightly.

Taylor nodded. "I knew you wouldn't go for it—which is the only reason why I didn't push it."

"I'm surprised you didn't try your patented tricks on him."

"Come on, Hales, even I have to draw the line somewhere. Little sister's best friend-slash-brother is just too out there. Even for me."

"I wouldn't have minded."

"Well, I think the police wouldn't have been as understanding."

"You have a point. I keep forgetting how old you are, you're so immature."

"Hate you," Taylor said lovingly.

"Okay," Haley handed Nathan his paper, "not too many mistakes, just some small ones. But I liked your analysis of Ben Franklin's writing. You're getting better at this."

"Thanks." Nathan glanced through the pages. "Can you tell Lucas that I'm going to need him this weekend? I'm running some shooting drills and I wanted him to be there, but he's not answering the phone."

"Oh, he went out of town with Karen. They're driving up to Charlotte to get some new equipment for the café, but they'll be back by Saturday morning. I'll let him know."

"Okay. See you." Nathan let himself out.

Taylor turned to Haley. "So you've adopted another Scott, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah. What about these heels? They're so long that I look like a stripper."

"You can't escape who you are. I can't believe your Wonder Twin didn't stick around for this. Don't you two usually shop for costumes together?"

Haley took off her scarf. "Oh, he'll be ready for the fun tomorrow. I've already picked out his costume: Tommy Lee."

"Are you kidding? He's going to look so stupid in that."


	11. Chapter 11 Moving Forward

**Chapter 11 Moving Forward**

_March 15, 2009_

"I can't believe you're going to abandon me."

Haley was getting ready. Somehow Taylor had convinced her to tag along on a road trip during spring break.

"You've got to try and make it without me sometime, Luke." Haley folded her shirts neatly and packed them in her suitcase.

"I haven't even had a chance to introduce you to Brooke."

"Brooke?" Haley looked interested. "When did you meet her?"

"Last September. We've been seeing each other, on and off, since then."

"Wow. She passed the five-month mark?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You never date a girl for longer than five months."

"That is not true!"

"Yeah?" Haley looked at her friend skeptically. "Name one other girl that's lasted as long as Brooke has."

Luke opened his mouth and then closed it again. He grimaced a little and then grinned widely. "Kelly Harris."

"Nope."

"What are you talking about? You remember Kelly."

"Oh, _I_ remember Kelly, but I don't think you do."

"What?"

"You broke up with Kelly a month before we left Tree Hill."

"And?"

"You started dating her on May first because you did that presentation together on the labor movement. Remember? So you were together for about four months and twenty-five days. Close, but not good enough.

"Am I that bad?" Lucas asked quietly.

Haley dropped the skirt she was folding and sat down next to him. "Avoiding long-term relationships isn't a crime." Haley put an arm around his shoulders. "I know when you find the right person you'll be able to make a commitment."

"I think . . . maybe I avoid being with one person for too long so I don't end up like Dan."

Haley listened carefully.

"I just don't want to make any promises that I can't keep."

"That's a good thing, Luke."

Haley started packing again and Lucas lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So when I'm I going to meet Brooke?" Haley asked.

"Maybe we could get together the weekend before you leave?"

"I was kinda hoping it'd just be the three of us: you, me, and Nathan."

"How about tomorrow then?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

When Brooke walked into Karen's café she saw a girl with beautifully long brown hair giggling and laughing as her sort-of-maybe boyfriend tickled her.

"Stop!" Haley gasped. "I'm going to kill you Scott!"

Brooke's eyebrows rose but she composed herself and walked forward. "Hey, boy."

"Brooke!" Lucas grinned when he saw her and reached out to give her a quick kiss on the lips. The handsome black-haired kid next to Haley rolled his eyes.

"This is Haley, my best friend, and this eyesore is my little brother Nathan."

Nathan gave his brother a fake laugh. "I thank God every day for bringing him into my life."

"It's great to meet you." Haley smiled and shook Brooke's hand. She shot Nathan a look and he pasted on a polite expression and said hello.

"You, too. Lucas talks about you all the time, it's nice to finally have a face to go with the name."

Brooke felt a little off balance. Lucas had known Haley forever and it was obvious that they were close. But she didn't pick up a boyfriend/girlfriend vibe and she was usually right. Usually.

"It's nice to meet you," Nathan shook her hand, "and actually see you. I keep thinking that Luke doesn't meet 'real' women."

Haley laughed. "Some of them are real, and some are just real to him."

"Shut up," Lucas said good-naturedly. "So do you feel like doing anything?"

"How about some shopping?" Brooke said.

Haley looked a little surprised but recovered quickly. "Sure. I need some new socks anyway."

* * *

Haley stood in the changing room, trying on different outfits that Brooke had insisted made her look hot.

"You and Luke probably don't do this much, huh?"

Haley turned around in the mirror, admiring the black low-cut top and knee-length skirt that Brooke had gotten for her.

"Shopping? For CDs, all the time. Clothes? Never."

"Really? Having a man's opinion can be a great thing."

"Well, Luke's not a man."

"Is there something that you know that I don't?"

Haley laughed. "I mean, Luke's not a man to me. He's just . . . Luke."

"Ah." Brooke looked at her closely. "So I'm sure that every girl he's ever gone out with thinks that the two of you are secretly in love, right?"

Haley was little surprised at Brooke's directness. "Some of them . . . most of them."

"How do you deal?"

Haley shrugged. "Either they believe me when I say Luke's like my brother, or they don't and they eventually break up."

"Luke doesn't seem like the long-term type anyway, am I right?"

Haley blinked. "Two for two. You're pretty sharp."

"Not really. But most people think that anyone that looks as good as I do," Brooke's eyes flashed with humor, "must be as dumb as a rock. So when I can actually put a sentence together they assume that I must be a genius."

Brooke put her hands on Haley's shoulders and turned her from side to side. "Why don't you go out and show yourself off to your guys?"

"Ugh, do I have to?" Haley said.

Brooke gave her a little push so she walked out. She saw Luke and Nathan passed out on the chairs every decent store provided for the guys who had to sit and wait for their wives, girlfriends, and girl_ friends._

"Wake up." Haley snapped her fingers.

Lucas' head rose off the back of the chair and he blinked with surprise. "You look great, Hales."

"Yeah. Your girl has great taste. A little different from mine—"

"You mean sluttier." Brooke walked out and patted Haley on the back. "Don't be afraid to say it."

"I'd say more provocative," Haley said primly.

"Can we get a comment from the teenage boy demographic?" Brooke asked.

"Thumbs up." Nathan smiled. "Can we go now?"

"One more outfit," Brooke said

Haley sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"It takes years to work up those shopping muscles," Brooke added seriously.

They went back into the dressing room and Brooke pulled off her clothes. "So Luke told me that you're going to be leaving for California soon."

"Yes."

"Then you're going to need a great bathing suit for the season."

"What?"

"Try this on."

"Brooke . . ."

"Come on. I'll wear one, too."

* * *

Haley and Brooke walked back out in front of Lucas, both of them wearing robes.

Lucas looked at them both. "You want my opinion on your robes?"

"Nope. On this." Brooke let her robe slide off her shoulders and she stood there in a bright blue bikini that showed off all her assets. Her dark brown hair fell past her shoulders and Lucas' eyes followed all her curves.

Lucas smiled and then glared over at his brother. "Stop looking!" Nathan covered his eyes obligingly and then Lucas looked over at Hales.

"I'm guessing you're only out here to support Brooke."

"What are you trying to say? That I don't look good in a swimsuit?" Haley actually sounded angry.

"What . . . no! I just mean . . ."

"What do you mean, Luke? Huh? Are you saying I'm not sexy?"

"No . . . Hales, you're totally . . . sexy." Lucas choked on the word while Nathan laughed, still keeping his eyes covered.

Haley whipped off her robe, checking to make sure that Nathan wasn't looking.

"Well, then, why can't you say it? Say it!"

"You're . . . you're . . ." Lucas stuttered.

Haley bent down and picked up her robe and put it on again. It was hard because she couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh, you were so right!" Haley laughed. She high-fived Brooke and they collapsed into each other's arms. "Total spaz."

"What?" Lucas sputtered.

"Sorry, Luke." Brooke grinned. "I couldn't resist a little joke."

"A joke!" Lucas stood up and lunged for them and they ran back into the safety of the changing room, laughing all the way.

Lucas turned around and glared at his brother, who still had his hand over his eyes.

"You can stop that!" Lucas barked at him.

Nathan lowered his hand and smiled at him, "Don't get snippy with me because they played you." He stood up. "I'm hungry, I'm going to grab a burger or something."

Lucas nodded. "We'll meet you at the food court. If I don't kill them both."

Nathan walked out of the store and once he was out of sight he slumped against the wall for a minute and closed his eyes. He'd seen Haley's one-piece through his fingers. It had been a deep purple and it made her skin look amazing. He'd never seen her in anything so skimpy and he leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.

Stop it, idiot. He told himself. He'd seen plenty of girls in bathing suits at the pool, great-looking girls. But regardless of what his mind said, his body refused to calm down. He stood there breathing deeply for what felt like forever before he was able to get it together enough to start moving again.

* * *

"I like her," Haley said.

Lucas was lying next to her in her bed.

"I'm glad. What about you, Hales? Are you seeing anybody new?"

"No. I'm taking a break for a while."

"Come on, not all guys are jerks like that . . . Trevor idiot. What kind of name is that anyway? Trevor. It just sounds stupid."

"I know, I'm just tired of the dating thing. Even when I'm with a nice guy I feel like there's something . . . missing."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm homesick."

Lucas shifted. "Really?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I love it there, but it's not the same."

"I know what you mean. But when I met Brooke it was like . . . being home, you know?"

"That's incredible."

"I really wanted her to like it here, even if we don't end up here."

"'End up here'? You're starting to sound serious."

"I guess I am. I don't know, Brooke told me that she wants something serious and that if I don't she'll give me some time to make up my mind before she moves on."

"I've never met anyone so . . . direct."

"Isn't it great?"

"It really is," Haley mused. "She came right out and asked me if I was interested in you."

"What'd you say?"

"After I stopped puking?" Lucas hit her with a pillow. "I gave her the brother-from-another-mother speech."

"So that's why she wanted to prank me."

"The look on your face," Haley giggled.

Lucas looked like he wanted to hit her again but he didn't. "Nathan was a little quiet today; I couldn't get him to really talk to me. Maybe it's because I haven't been around as much this year."

"I think he understands. He probably didn't say much because clothes shopping isn't his thing." Haley yawned.

"I'd better get home."

"Okay. Look, why don't you invite Brooke over for our last weekend together?"

"Really?" Lucas asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We can all hang out."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Now that Haley was back from her trip she only had a few days to spend in Tree Hill before she had to go back to school, so Nathan was anxious to spend time with her—and at the same time make sure that no one noticed it.

Lydia James answered a knock at her door to see Nathan standing there.

"I think that she's hanging out at Lucas' house. She went out before I got up this morning." She didn't even wait for Nathan to open his mouth.

"Thanks."

* * *

Nathan knocked on Lucas' door and he let his brother in.

"Hey, Nate."

"Hey."

"I can't go down to the court today, I've got to get to work."

Nathan shrugged. "That's okay. Is Haley around?" he asked casually.

"I think she might be down at the café with my mom."

"Okay."

* * *

"Hi, Aunt Karen."

"Oh, Lucas is at home, Nate."

"Yeah, I know. I was just there, he's busy so I was just looking for Haley."

"She's not working today, maybe you could try and see if she's home."

Nathan just sighed and left.

He walked along, dribbling his ball slowly. Haley wasn't anywhere. He didn't feel like going home so he decided to take a walk down by the river. It was a beautiful day, it was warm and the sky was cloudless.

He rounded a corner and there she was, sitting on a blanket next to a large picnic basket.

"Haley?"

"Nathan, what's up?"

"Are you meeting someone here?"

"No, why?"

Nathan looked at the plate of fried chicken, a whole apple pie, a large bowl with mashed potatoes, and a smaller one with gravy, _and_ a plate of corn on the cob.

"You're going to eat all this by yourself?"

"Yes." When Nathan's eyes bulged out she laughed. "I mean, eventually. My Mom and Dad will probably be eating the leftovers for days."

Nathan sat down on the blanket next to her. "So why did you bring all this stuff?"

"I don't know, I like treating myself sometimes, you know? Growing up with five older brothers and sisters means that everything I have is used, handed-down, and recycled at least three times. Every once in a while I like to go all out and do something just for me."

"I think I get it."

"Do you? That's great, because I just made all that up."

Nathan laughed.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm always hungry," Nathan answered.

The food tasted good but it was probably the company that made it really delicious. He'd never done anything like this with his parents. His father was definitely not the type to put together family outings; his mom probably would have liked to do something like this—if she hadn't been allergic to everything natural.

Nathan ate until he felt that his sides were going to split and after Haley packed up the massive amount of food that was left over they lay back on the blanket. He listened to her breathing beside him and he let his eyes drift shut. They didn't feel the need to talk and they just let a comfortable silence cover them. He turned his head to look at her and saw that her gaze was fixed on the sky. He looked down, saw her hand lying on the blanket between them, and he wanted to hold it. His fingers twitched briefly but he remained still.

Haley sighed and took in a deep breath, which made her chest rise and Nathan's gaze dropped to her breasts. He felt a warm flush move down his body. He slid his eyes away from her and tried to calm down. He liked Haley, but this was . . . something else. Lying there he sensed something change, he could feel it, low in his belly. He closed his eyes and opened them again, expecting the world to look different somehow, but it was the same. It was him who had suddenly changed.

* * *

Haley rolled down the window of her car and enjoyed the weather a little before turning the key in the ignition. On days like this it was hard to think about ever leaving California. She drove back to her apartment and as soon as she got in the door her cell phone rang.

"Lucas?"

"Hey, Hales."

"Tell me that you're going to be able to make it out here for my graduation." Lucas hesitated for so long that Haley sighed. "You can't make it."

"I'm really sorry Hales."

"It was a long shot, anyway. I mean, we're graduating a couple days apart on opposite sides of the country. It just sucks that you guys won't be there, you know?"

"We're gonna celebrate when you get home, I promise."

"Yeah," Haley said sadly, then she perked up. "Anyway, I'm sorry that I'm going to be missing your graduation. But when I get back to Tree Hill I'll have special graduation gift for you."

"Ooh, what?"

"Not telling."

"Cruel. I've got to go."

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye."

* * *

Nathan watched Haley walk down the aisle in her cap and gown and he felt his breath catch in his throat. Her smile was brilliant. He wished that he could be closer but then that would ruin the surprise.

After the ceremony when all the students were milling around the tents, chatting and eating cake, he and his brother finally revealed themselves.

"Lucas? Nathan?" Haley ran towards them and jumped into Lucas' arms. "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't make it!"

Lucas put Haley down and Nathan hugged Haley hard, picking her up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the embrace.

Lucas snorted. "You didn't really think that we'd miss this, did you?"

"I'd have understood. I would've punished you both for it for the rest of our lives, but I'd have understood."

"Since you're so gifted when it comes to torture I thought that we should spare ourselves and make an appearance."

"Thank you for coming." Haley's smile couldn't have been wider. "Let me grab Taylor and Matt and we can all go somewhere."

"Is the whole James clan here?" Lucas asked.

"No, just those two and my parents. The others couldn't make it. Babies, business trips, there's always something."

"Haley!" shouted a voice from afar.

Nathan recognized it instantly and his face froze for a moment. It was Jason, Haley had been dating him for almost a year. He was a tool, and he knew it wasn't just jealousy. Lucas couldn't stand him either.

Jason walked up, shook Lucas' hand, then turned to Haley and bent his head to give her a deep kiss while Nathan stopped himself from grabbing a tent pole and knocking him flat on the grass.

"I didn't know you two were coming. Are Karen and Deb here, too?" Jason asked.

"They're here," Lucas glanced over at Haley, "do you two have plans for anything after the ceremony?"

Jason smiled wickedly and opened his mouth to reply; Haley hit him lightly on the stomach and gave him a playful glare.

"No," Jason coughed. "My family's planning to do something next week and I thought that we might just go out to dinner or something."

"Well, Deb rented out a house and Mom has been losing her mind in that kitchen cooking for you."

Haley looked incredulous. "Are you serious?"

* * *

"Surprise!"

Haley just stood in the doorway, stunned. She looked around quickly; her entire family was there except her oldest brother, Brian. Lydia hugged her daughter and laughed.

"And you thought that it wasn't possible to have us all in the same place at the same time."

"What are you all doing here?"

"What do you think?" Quinn asked. "The last James has finally totally and officially flown out of the nest. It's time to celebrate."

"I've been out of the nest for years," Haley said.

"Yeah, but now it's official."

Haley hugged Quinn. Her sister had been like a mother to her growing up, and she'd missed her high school graduation because she'd been hugely pregnant at the time.

"Where's my niece?"

"In Minnesota with her father. I'm letting him experience the joy of parenthood."

Haley looked at her sister closely. "He got that set of golf clubs that you told him not to buy."

Quinn shrugged. "He gets his clubs, and I get a little vacation in California." She smiled wickedly. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that if we're gonna be spending that kind of money, then I'm flying out to see my baby sister graduate."

Haley shook her head. "How long have you two been happily married?"

"Six years, but it feels like one." Quinn smiled. "He'll be coming out with our kid in a few days. Mom and Dad have turned this into another family reunion."

Jason edged over to Nathan. "I can never keep all of Haley's brothers and sisters straight, can you?"

Nathan turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised. "I can."

"Maybe you could help me out then?"

Nathan turned his back and ignored him. Jason got an annoyed look on his face.

"Do you have a problem, man?" he asked.

Jason's voice was still mild but Lucas stepped in before things could get tense. "The one Haley's talking to right now is Quinn, she's the oldest. She used to work in advertising, like Lydia, but she's taken some time off to raise her daughter." Lucas nodded to his left. "That's Jen carrying the bread, she's third in line."

"Anything about her I should know?" Jason said. "Other than that she's cute?"

Nathan made a face.

"She's a chef. And she has a boyfriend," Lucas said with just a hint of impatience.

Nathan smiled when he saw a guy who looked remarkably like Haley—which was probably why he liked him so much—walk up to her with a wrapped gift.

"That's Matt, I used to play ball with him before he moved up to New York to try and get his acting career off the ground."

"Wasn't he pretty good?" Nathan asked. "I think Whitey mentioned him once."

"He was great." Lucas looked at him with a little regret. "He could have gone almost anywhere in the country but he wanted the lead in Cats more than a championship, I guess."

Nathan shook his head with disbelief.

"I can understand that." Jason had minored in drama.

"You would," Nathan muttered.

"And that," Lucas gestured, "is Taylor. She's only a year-and-a-half older than Haley."

"What's she like?"

Lucas opened his mouth and then closed it again. "She's . . ."

Lucas glanced over at Nathan and he shrugged. He'd never seen Taylor around that much. By the time that he'd come into Lucas and Haley's lives Taylor had already had one foot out the door. She was never home, always out with somebody doing something.

"She's . . . unique."

"So the only one missing is . . . Brian, right?"

"Yeah. He's the one that seems to be carrying on the James 'you can never have too many babies' tradition. He's got three kids and another one on the way."

Nathan grinned at his brother. "Haley let me put some money in the pool."

"What pool?"

"You know, the 'what year does Brian have his sixth kid' pool."

Lucas laughed. "You're kidding."

"Nope. If he has number six in 2016 then I win six hundred dollars."

"That's awful, does Brian know about it?"

"No." Nathan looked shocked. "That might skew the results."

"Crazy," Lucas said. "Every last one of you."

Brian strode in the door with a suitcase in hand. "You started without me?"

"Brian!" Haley ran around the table to hug her brother. "Late as usual."

"You try being on time when you've got three people hanging off you, but like that matters anyway. You know I'm your favorite brother."

"Hey!" said Matt, indignant.

"Don't try and deny it."

"I plead the fifth." Haley held up her hands.

They sat back down and Haley smiled around the table. "Thank you guys so much for coming. I can't believe that everybody I love is in one place."

Quinn stood up. "Here's a toast, to my baby sister. I know you're going to do great things. I knew from the minute you were born that you were a special person and you've never proved me wrong."

"Here, here!" Lydia said.

Everyone all raised their glasses and drank.

"And I'd like to thank Karen for this incredible food." Haley smiled over at her. "And Deb for arranging this whole thing."

"It was our pleasure," Deb called out.

Haley sat back down and Nathan caught her eye and she grinned at him. He felt his heart warm at the sight. Haley was glowing. She was never happier than when she was around family.

"So what are your plans?" Quinn asked.

"I think I might go back to Tree Hill for a while with Mom and Dad, but I'll probably come back out here and try to find a job."

Nathan felt his stomach roll over a little. He'd suspected that Haley would stay out here but he'd hoped that maybe she'd be home again for good. He didn't let himself feel too badly about it. Tonight was about Haley and there was no way that he'd be able to stay down for long anyway, her mood was contagious.

Nathan spent most of the night just enjoying everyone's company, he didn't talk much once dinner was over.

He sat on the porch while Haley's family played an intensely competitive volleyball game in the backyard.

Haley came and sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's great. Why?"

"I don't know you just seem . . ." Haley paused for a minute, "a little wistful."

Nathan glanced at her before looking back over the lawn. "I just can't help wishing I'd had this growing up. My uncle Cooper is great, but I hardly ever see him. Probably because of my dad."

Haley didn't say anything but she put an arm around his shoulders and he leaned into her.

They watched the game for a few more moments and Nathan laughed. "I didn't think it was possible but I think your family is more cutthroat than my dad. Brian and Matt look like they're going to kill each other."

"Game night is no joke in the James household. My father beat my mother once, just _once_, in Scrabble and she didn't speak to him for weeks."

"Haley!" Jen yelled. "Get your butt down here and back on the line!"

"Duty calls."

It was a warm night but Nathan still felt cold when Haley got up to switch out her sister. He watched her serve the ball and sat back further on the couch.


	12. Chapter 12 Breaking Up

**Chapter 12 Breaking Up**

_September 29, 2010_

Deb fumbled for a drink and didn't even bother with the cup. She poured the vodka straight down her throat and didn't stop until she felt the urge to breathe.

She didn't know how things had gotten so bad that she'd rather sit in her room and drink than spend time with her husband. Dan had been unbelievably harsh at Nathan's game a couple days ago and he hadn't been any better today.

"Drinking again?" Dan's sarcasm cut like a knife. "Getting up to a bottle a day, aren't you?"

Deb jumped at the sound of his voice. She'd been so preoccupied that she didn't hear him walk in the room.

"I should be," she snapped. "Being married to you would drive anyone to alcohol."

"Admit it, you just like messing up and now you have the perfect way to do it."

"Screw you!" Deb screamed.

"That would be nice," Dan snarled. "I think that I've almost forgotten what it must be like to have a wife that opens her legs at least once a month."

"If you want some, Dan," Deb laughed, "I'm going to have to have a lot more to drink."

* * *

Nathan sat in his room with his hands over his ears. His parents were so loud that he couldn't shut out their voices. Snatches of their conversation kept coming into his room.

"You son of a bitch . . . lied to me for _years_!"

"Frigid . . . lucky I stayed with you this long . . ."

". . . doing me any favors! My parents supported us all this time while you were . . ."

Finally he climbed out of bed and laced up his sneakers. His parents didn't even hear him leave the house.

Nathan walked aimlessly for an hour and somehow ended up at Haley's house. He knocked on the door and when Haley opened it she looked a little surprised to see him, but then her face broke out into a wide grin.

"Heartbreaker!"

"Hey." Nathan moved into her embrace naturally and gave her one of his patented hugs. Haley called them rib-crackers.

After he set her back down she pulled him inside and led him to the living room.

"Your timing is great, I was just about to watch a movie and stuff myself with ice cream."

"What, again?" Nathan smiled. "You're an addict and you really should do something about it. Admitting you have a problem is the first step."

"Ha, freakin', ha."

"Where are your parents?"

"Somewhere on I-94. They decided to make one of their impulsive trips to visit my sister in Minnesota."

"Quinn?"

"Yep."

Haley peeled the top off the carton and brought bowls, spoons, and an ice cream scoop.

"Hey, I'm in training."

"Just one scoop," Haley said, "it won't kill you."

Nathan rolled his eyes and accepted the bowl while Haley squeezed hot fudge over her rocky road.

Settling back on the couch Nathan felt himself relax for the first time that day. He leaned his head against one of the pillows and let everything else fade from his mind.

* * *

Friday night Nathan found himself at a party thrown by one of the guys on the football team. He hadn't really wanted to go but he couldn't stay in the house, even though his father had left early this morning and was going to be away all week. After the latest fight with his mother Dan had packed a bag and slammed out of the house; he'd been planning on visiting Florida next week to talk to Henry Ferris, an executive of one of the most successful sports agencies in the state.

After the screaming match with his wife Dan had decided to fly out five days early. He shouted about needing to get away from the "goddamn bitch" that he'd married and then he'd booked himself a seat on the earliest possible flight.

It had felt like the walls were closing in and he didn't really want to see or talk to anyone. Someone was trying to carry on a conversation with him but he couldn't even focus enough to hold up his end of it: replying with nods and uh-huhs. He was at the house of someone he didn't know, talking to some girl that he didn't care about, and drinking something out of a cup that probably had enough alcohol in it to blind him.

"Hey man." Tim came up behind him.

Nathan turned away in relief from the girl who was talking to him. She frowned at his back before walking away.

"How's it going?"

"Party's a little boring, but at least Richard's got beer." Tim took a gulp from the can in his hand.

"Hand me one, will you?" Nathan popped the tab and drank it down quickly.

The night wore on and six beers later Nathan was still going strong.

Tim looked at him with just a hint of worry. "Maybe you should slow down, we've got practice tomorrow."

"Whatever." Nathan voice was slurred. He opened another beer and made his way into the living room where guests of varying degrees of drunkenness were hanging out.

"Nathan!" A girl he'd been talking to earlier waved him over. What was her name . . . Justine Kettle.

"Hey, Justine."

She flushed slightly, pleased that he knew who she was.

"Sit down, we're about to play a game."

"Yeah?" Nathan's attention was already wandering but Justine pulled him down to sit next to her and his legs were so boneless that he didn't want to make the effort to get up again.

Justine's voice chatted excitedly in his ear but he wasn't paying attention to a thing she said. There were about five other kids there, throwing back shots and talking.

Finally they were done with whatever they were doing and Justine grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the corner. Before he knew exactly what was happening she was kissing him. She wasn't bad at it and he put his arms around her waist. Justine broke away to catch her breath and he swayed for a moment, trying to get his bearings, when she kissed him on the neck.

Nathan smiled slightly and closed his eyes as Justine left her mark on him as he slid his hands up her sides. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he murmured her name.

"What!" Justine snapped. "Who's Haley?"

Nathan reeled back, his eyes wide with surprise.

"What?"

"You called me Haley!" Justine hissed. "Why don't you go find that skank if that's who you want?!"

Justine flounced off before Nathan could say anything else. Tim approached him with an amused look on his face.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know." Nathan rubbed a hand over his face.

"Give me your keys, I'll drive you home."

Nathan handed them over without protest. Suddenly he didn't really feel like partying anymore.

* * *

When Nathan answered the door the next day he saw his brother standing there looking at him expectantly.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?"

"Are you high? Yesterday you asked me to come over early so we could get in a practice game."

"Oh, right."

Lucas took in Nathan's appearance: he was still wearing the rumpled clothes he'd had on last night and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Rough night?" Lucas asked.

"Not bad," Nathan said shortly.

"You look like ass." Lucas leaned in a little and then quickly drew away. "You smell like it, too."

Nathan walked back into the house, leaving Lucas to follow and close the door behind him.

Lucas' playful attitude disappeared. He'd seen Nathan's house—Dan's house—from the outside a few times but he'd never even thought about crossing the threshold.

It was nice, spacious and well decorated. That was probably Deb's doing. The entranceway was large and welcoming with a half-spiral staircase leading up to the upper level. Lucas followed Nathan into the living room.

Nathan sat down on a chair, very slow and very careful, and picked up the two aspirin and glass of water that had been sitting on the side table.

"I can't play this morning, Luke. I'm gonna try and get in another two hours of sleep before I have to show up for practice."

"You're going like _that_?" Lucas looked skeptical.

"If I don't, what Whitey will do to me will make this hangover feel like a mosquito bite."

"That's for sure." Lucas grimaced as he remembered some of the creative ways Whitey had punished him for being late. "Where's Deb?"

"I don't know."

Lucas looked confused. "You don't know?"

"She wasn't here when I got back," Nathan said, annoyed.

His brother eyed him for a moment but he dropped it.

"Lucas?"

He turned around. "Tim? Hey, what are you doing here?"

"By the time we got back it was so late that Nate said I could just crash on his couch."

"You don't look like you're about to puke your guts out."

"The night before practice?" Tim looked at Nathan. "I'm not that stupid."

"You can leave at any time." Nathan put his head in his hands and moaned before turning to his brother. "I still want to work on my three-pointers, can we meet up tomorrow?"

"Maybe, I have to talk to Haley, we might have plans," Lucas said.

"Haley?" Tim's ears perked up. "Your girlfriend's name is Haley?"

"Friend. Yeah." Lucas eyed Tim. "Do you know her?" he asked skeptically.

"No," Tim said thoughtfully as Nathan's expression froze. "But I think I've heard the name before."

"Anyway," Nathan said repressively, glaring his friend into silence. "Give me a call later?"

"Sure." Lucas gave his brother a half-smile. "I think that it's great you're still trying to be as good as I am."

Nathan snorted. "I passed you a long time ago old man."

Lucas rolled his eyes good-naturedly and left.

Tim turned knowing eyes on his friend. "Your brother's friend, huh?"

"Shut up."

"Does he know that you're calling out her name while you're . . . being active . . . with other girls?"

"I said shut up, Tim." His eyes flickered over to him. "How would you know what I said? Were you spying on me, perv?"

"Oh, Justine's pissed off and all of her little minions are looking out for that 'Haley bitch.'"

Nathan's face fell. "You're kidding. Why is she so mad? We're not even dating. And where did you learn the word 'minions'?"

"PSAT word. And stop trying to change the subject. You're so out of it Nate."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been carrying her books and walking her home from school, right?"

"She asked me to do that! It wasn't a big deal or out of my way, it's not like I was trying to get her to like me."

"So? She probably thought she'd found another admirer." Tim shook his head. "I told you to stay away from the Queen Bee. She's been trying to create the future Prom king and queen for months now."

"That's not happening," Nathan said flatly.

"Why not? It's not like you have to marry her afterwards, you'd probably have a good time if you went with her."

"I don't think so."

Tim shrugged. "Then you'd better stay out of her way, or let your stats drop so that you're not the best player and she can move on to bigger and better."

"Wonderful," Nathan muttered. "Those my only options?"

Tim thought carefully. "You could move out of state."

* * *

Nathan walked off the court, trying to control his temper. It was his junior year and he was playing better than ever. He should be having one of the best times of his life, but he wasn't. His father had acted like a complete ass during the game. His game. Haley had flown out all the way from her school a few times to watch him play but now that she'd graduated and was back in Tree Hill for a while she'd never missed one. He'd assumed that she'd leave at the end of the summer, but she'd stayed. He wasn't sure why but he was grateful.

It felt like everything else in his life was up in the air. His parents didn't even bother hiding their fights from him anymore, all he had to look forward to at home was screaming matches and slammed doors. His mother tried to pretend that everything was fine but night after night he found himself taking care of her. She thought that he didn't notice the empty bottles that she hid in her room. He laughed to himself. Weren't his parents supposed to be taking care of him?

Dan caught Nathan's arm as he was walking back to the locker room.

"What the hell was that?"

"What is your problem Dad? You do know that we won, right?" Nathan tried to pull away from his father.

"You've been setting up too many assists. When scouts come to evaluate your performance you're going to have to take your goddamn shots!"

"Will you get off me?" Nathan yanked away but Dan grabbed him again and slammed him up against the lockers.

"I can't believe that after all the time and money spent on you, you're just going to screw up your career. Is that why you wanted to live with your mother? Because I know she doesn't give a damn about what's important either."

"Keep her out of this," Nathan said through his teeth.

"It's no wonder you're such a screw-up, living with that—"

"Hey!" Haley jogged towards them and the look on Nathan's face became even harsher, if that was possible.

"Get off him!" Haley got between them and Dan stepped back, glaring at her.

"I'm talking to my son, that's still allowed, right?"

"Do we have to get a restraining order, Dan?" Haley asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Nice try, but you've been skulking around your wife for way too long for me to believe that you don't already know."

Dan's lips tightened and he moved as if he was going to push her aside. Nathan got one hand on Haley's arm and pulled her behind him. His face was blank but his voice made even Dan pause.

"Leave, Dad." Nathan waited until his father was out of sight before turning and walking down the hallway. He ushered Haley in front of him.

When they got out to the parking lot Haley asked, "Where are you going? Everyone's still inside."

"What were you thinking?"

"Excuse me?"

"Talking to my dad like that, are you trying to make things worse for me?"

"No, I just thought . . ."

"Well, don't. I don't need you stepping into my business. I can handle him."

"He shouldn't speak to you that way," Haley glared at him and folded her arms, "you shouldn't have to deal with his 'let me live out my basketball dreams through my son' thing."

"You don't know anything about it."

"You're right, I don't know what it's like to have that kind of asshole for a father."

"Oh, I suppose your family's perfect, then."

Haley looked taken aback. "I never said that they were."

"I'm sure if we pick their lives apart we could find something that you're ashamed of."

Haley's face went white and she turned and walked away without saying anything else.

Nathan watched her leave and then closed his eyes and leaned against a car. He pounded one fist on the roof and ran after her. She'd gotten all the way down the block and he called after her.

"Haley!"

She didn't even slow down.

He ran and caught up with her.

"Haley, I'm sor—"

"Don't." Haley fished around in her bag for her cell phone and hit speed dial. "Luke, I'm not going to need a ride home . . . no, I'm fine I just feel like walking . . . Nathan's going to go straight home, too, he had a run-in with Dan . . . he's okay . . . yeah . . . I'll see you tomorrow."

"Haley—"

"Why don't you go back to the school and get a ride home," she said quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Come on."

"I don't want to talk right now."

Nathan sighed. "Can I walk you home?"

Haley didn't answer and he took that as a yes. They passed the football field and Nathan searched for something to say. He ached to touch her, to have her wrap him in her arms but now there was this distance between them and it hurt.

When they finally got to her house she glanced at him once. "How are you getting home?"

"I'm going to walk back."

"It's getting late, you shouldn't be out alone."

"I'll just call Tim, then, he'll pick me up."

Haley nodded and opened the door. Nathan followed her inside and pulled out his cell. He was about to make the call but he snapped his phone shut and walked into the kitchen where Haley was busy putting away the dishes.

"Do you want something?"

"I thought we were friends."

Haley had a look of controlled frustration. "We are friends."

"Doesn't that mean that we can talk?"

"We can talk tomorrow when I'm not as pissed off."

"I'm sorry about what I said. I don't understand why you're so mad. Your family is perfect."

"Nobody's family is perfect, Nathan." She looked at him for a moment. "Sit down."

Nathan's serious expression lightened a bit and he pulled up a chair.

Haley pulled a pint of Ben and Jerry's out of the freezer and got two spoons. She handed one over and sat down across from him.

"My parents almost got divorced."

"What?" Nathan sat up stiffly in shock. "When?"

"You must have been, maybe, thirteen at the time. You know my Mom works as a creative director at an ad agency?" Haley paused and Nathan nodded. "Well, it's a national company and they transferred someone from the branch in New York to work here and it just happened to be an old boyfriend of Mom's. Doug Thorpe.

"They were friends and they started hanging out a lot and before you know it office gossip spread and my Dad heard some of it. He and my Mom had the worst fight that I've ever seen, he was accusing her of keeping secrets and she was mad because he didn't trust her . . ." Haley spooned more ice cream into her mouth. "It was bad."

"I'm so sorry, Haley."

"The really weird thing is . . . that Doug guy really did want Mom back—even though she was married and had six kids with another man," Haley said with a trace of bitterness. She shook her head. "It was one of the worst times of my life." Haley looked at him then. "Nobody's perfect."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"No, I mean, I'm sorry for acting like a jerk."

"Well, I shouldn't have insulted your dad."

"Are you saying you think you were wrong about him?" Nathan gave her a slight smile.

"No," Haley laughed, "I'm not prepared to go that far. I'm just saying that I shouldn't call him names in front of you."

"So it's okay to do it when I'm not there?" There was a definite glint in Nathan's eye.

"Don't tease me." Haley narrowed her eyes at him.

Nathan laughed.

"How are things with your parents?"

"They ignore each other, mostly. Maybe if they talked they could work out their issues."

"You're lying," Haley said bluntly.

Nathan looked away while Haley watched him carefully.

"But when you're ready to talk, I'll be here." Haley changed the subject and Nathan relaxed. "What does a young basketball star do these days on a Friday night?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Whatever you and Luke did when he was here. It hasn't changed that much in the five whole years since you left high school."

"Well, it feels more like ten. Besides I didn't really hang with Lucas when he did go out."

"Why not?"

"It wasn't really my thing."

"Come on, you never went to a party with him?"

Haley's brow furrowed. "Not that I can remember. At least not a basketball crowd party."

Nathan smiled. "Do you want to go to one now?"

Haley laughed and then sobered when she saw that Nathan was serious. "No way."

"It'll be fun."

"No it won't."

Nathan teased and cajoled but Haley was unmovable. Finally he gave up but he warned her, "Someday I'm going to get you to go to one of the parties we have after the game."

"Good luck with that." Haley shook her head.

* * *

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Deb stared off to the side. "I used to love my job so much and now I feel like work is pointless. It's feels like I'm dragging fifty pounds behind me when I go to the office."

Karen poured more coffee into Deb's cup. "I'm sure that you can find something else if that's what you want. Take advantage of the fact that you have your Master's degree."

"And do what with it?" Deb sighed. "I'm a little tired of the corporate thing."

Karen looked around her café. "You could work here."

"Thanks for the offer, Karen, but I don't think waitressing is for me and you know I can't cook."

"Not as a waitress," Karen huffed with laughter. "As a business partner."

"You're kidding." Deb stared at her friend.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"But . . . what about Dan?"

"What about him?"

"Karen . . . I think it's amazing that we've gotten as close as we have. I can't imagine what it would be like if I couldn't come here and drink coffee with you and talk. But, are you sure about this? I mean . . . don't you think it could get complicated?"

"We've known each other for seven years, I think that if we were going to have a falling out because of our shared history, that it would have happened by now."

"You don't even know what kind of worker I am."

"Of course I do. I've seen you in action, the way you juggle work and Nathan."

"Karen . . ." Deb looked down at her fingers and twisted them together. "I've been drinking . . . a lot."

The small smile disappeared off Karen's face. "When did this start?"

"I don't know. Dan and I would have a fight and I'd have another glass of wine with dinner. Then we started fighting more and then wine became vodka, and then I was drinking almost every night."

"God . . ."

Tears stood out in Deb's eyes. "I don't think Nathan knows."

"Deb, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's true."

"Why?"

"Lucas has told me that Nathan seems more . . . withdrawn than he's ever been."

"Nathan's fine!" Deb insisted. "It's just that he's seen me and his father fighting. I'm going to stop doing that in front of him."

"Even if he hasn't seen you, he might be picking up on some things . . ."

"I said he's fine!" Deb snapped.

Karen just looked at Deb for a moment. "You're right, we shouldn't rush into a business partnership."

Deb felt her heart drop a little. She'd been hoping that Karen would override her concerns.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you . . ."

"No, Deb. I want you to be able to talk to me, no matter what. But please trust me on one thing. I'm not sure where you're at with your drinking but you want to find help sooner than later. Things can spiral out of control so fast . . ." Karen hesitated. "My father used to drink."

"Oh, Karen, I'm so sorry."

"There are so many times when he could have gotten help and he didn't. Will you go with me to an AA meeting?"

"Karen, it's not like I'm drinking while I'm at work or when I'm around Nathan."

"This is about taking care of _you_ Deb. If you're so stressed that you feel like you have to numb your feelings with alcohol then you should come with me. Can you do that?"

"Okay . . ." Tears ran down Deb's face. "But I don't want anyone to know."

"Good thing it's anonymous, then." Karen smiled, even though her heart was breaking. Deb wasn't that good at lying and hiding. Chances were her family already knew.

Deb laughed at Karen's lame attempt at a joke.

* * *

Deb walked into her home and found her husband waiting there.

"Hey," he said.

"Dan, we need to talk."

"I know."

"I want a divorce."

Dan looked completely dumbstruck and Deb was surprised that he was so surprised.

"What?"

"Dan . . . surely this isn't that much of a shock? We've been at each other's throats for years now."

"I thought you were going to suggest counseling," Dan said incredulously.

"I don't think seeing a counselor would help us with our problems."

"How do you know that?" Dan was starting to get angry.

"Because I don't trust you."

"Don't trust me? You were the one having an affair—"

"I wasn't having an affair," Deb said calmly. After weeks of going to AA meetings and seeing a counselor privately she'd made her decision. Even if Dan could change, it was too late for them. "Things have been said between us that can't be taken back. I don't want to be married to you anymore and I'm sure that you don't want to be married to me."

"So you'd do this to our son. Break up his family."

"What family, Dan? When was the last time that we did anything together? Just the three of us?" Dan was silent and Deb nodded. "It's over."

"Just like that," Dan said sarcastically.

"It's been coming for a long time."

"What about Nathan?"

"We're going to have to figure out a way to tell him. And we'll work something out with who he's going to be living with."

"You're not going to get him in this divorce."

Deb looked at Dan with pity. "He's going to be eighteen in a year and off to college not soon after that. By the time the divorce goes through it's not really going to matter who has custody."

Dan just sat there while Deb walked away from him.

* * *

When Nathan walked into his house there was something in the air that he'd never felt before. There was anger . . . and something else. Both of his parents were sitting in the kitchen and his mom looked up when she heard him walk in.

"Honey, can you sit down for a minute?"

Nathan looked at her and then at his dad, who was glowering at his mother. "I think I'd rather stand."

"Okay." Deb took a deep breath. "I think that it's pretty obvious that your father and I have been having a lot of problems. And it's come to the point where we can't work them out. We both love you—this has nothing to do with you—but your father and I are getting a divorce."

Nathan wasn't really surprised, and yet he was. His parents' relationship had sucked for years. The last time that he could remember them all being really, truly happy was when he was eight.

"When?" he said expressionlessly.

"I'm not sure yet. It depends on a couple different things, it could be a couple of months or a year, depending on how things go."

"Who am I going to live with?"

"Your father and I still have a lot of things to discuss—"

"You can live with me," Dan broke in.

"Dan," Deb said warningly.

"Why would he want to live with the person who broke up our marriage?"

Deb looked at him for a long time and then just shook her head. "Grow up, Dan." She looked at her son. "It's really your choice, Nate. I'll respect your decision, whatever it is."

Deb stood up and walked out of the kitchen and her son followed her. Dan felt his stomach turn over as he realized that when he moved out, he was probably going to be alone—and then he scoffed to himself. He and Nathan didn't have a perfect relationship, but a boy always needs a father.

* * *

Dan was in the room that he used to share with his wife, packing his clothes into a suitcase. Once Deb had told him that she wanted a divorce, things had seemed to speed up. Before he knew it, most of his things had been moved into their beachfront property. She'd already contacted a lawyer and was in the process of dividing their assets. He'd tried to talk to her, but she wasn't having it. He'd tried to dispute some of the things that she felt entitled to in the divorce but she'd agreed to hand over everything except the house.

He'd asked Nathan if he wanted to set up his room for him but he'd said that he was playing well and he didn't want to disrupt his routine.

He walked downstairs and Nathan was just coming in.

"Hey."

"Hey, Dad." Nathan put his hands in his pockets.

"Look, I'm thinking about moving back to Florida." Nathan nodded and Dan looked at him. "Are you sure that you want to stay with your mother?"

"I'm sure. Besides, why would I leave the Ravens now and start all over with a different team?"

"Well, of course you wouldn't do that, but maybe after you graduate you could move down there with me."

"I think I'd rather stay here."

Dan's lips tightened, Nathan's answer was given without thought. He'd never even considered going with him.

"It might be fun, just two guys in the house. Plus, you'd get to see your grandparents more."

"I think Mom's going to need me." Nathan stepped around his father and made his way up the stairs.

Dan looked away for a long moment before laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?"

"Do you really think she's going to stoop to being your girlfriend?"

Nathan froze and turned around with his face set and a smirk in place. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

"Please. You think I didn't notice you panting after that girl? She's putting up with you because she likes your brother, that's all. If you want to date, fine, but keep your relationships casual—with people your own age—and use protection."

"Thanks," Nathan said dryly, "I can use all the relationship advice that I can get from you."

"Isn't she dating some new guy now?" Dan twisted the knife. "She's so busy with him that I haven't seen her at your last two games."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "I'm not six, Dad. Haley was busy and she couldn't come. If you have a lot of work to do, please, feel free to miss a couple games."

"Is that really why you want to stay here? So you can follow behind this Haley girl like a puppy?"

"We're friends," Nathan affected the bored tone that he'd spent years perfecting. "Are you really so out of touch that you don't know the type of girl I usually go for?"

Dan regarded his son evenly while Nathan maintained his poker face. Sometimes his father surprised him with how intuitive he could be. He supposed that was probably one of the things that had made him such a great basketball player: the ability to get inside the head of his opponent.

"You've been following Haley around ever since you met her, even I can see that."

"You really did check out when I was thirteen, didn't you? I could always talk to Mom about who I was with. _She_ always listened."

Dan's jaw tensed. "Whatever kind of girl you're with, I hope you're not counting on her to use birth control. Use a condom, every time. You don't want to make the same mistakes I did."

"Really, Dad? Which mistake was that? Having a baby or abandoning one?"

Nathan walked away, leaving his father to stare after him angrily.

* * *

Haley drove towards a house, grumbling to herself. She'd gotten a call on her cell and it was Nathan's ID that had flashed across the screen—but it had been Tim. Apparently, Nathan had gotten drunk and Tim was in no condition to drive either.

She pulled up and got out to find them both nearly passed out on the lawn.

"Gentlemen."

Tim's head slowly drew back and he smiled widely. "Haley! Haley. I love you," he said seriously, and then he laughed.

"Get in the car," Haley said shortly.

She walked over to Nathan and squatted down to look at him. He was sleeping and she smacked him on the face.

"Hey! Hey!" he groaned.

"Get up," Haley ordered. "You're way too big for me to carry you.

"Haley?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"My parents are getting divorced."

"I know," her tone gentled, "I'm sorry."

"I don't really care, I'm happy about it. All they did was fight. It was a nightmare living in the middle of that. My mom's right, it's going to be better if they're apart."

Haley just nodded and managed to help pull him upright. Wedging one shoulder under his armpit she managed to get him to her car. "Tim, open the door."

Breathing hard, she managed to get him into the backseat and rolled down the windows.

"If you guys start feeling sick, lean outside the window, okay? I'll kill you both if either one of you throws up in my car."

Haley dropped Tim off first, his father didn't even bat an eye at Tim's state.

Haley drove up to Nathan's house and turned around in her seat to look at him. His eyes were closed and she thought he'd fallen asleep again. She reached out to shake him awake. He spoke and her hand froze between them.

"Can I come home with you?"

"Nathan." She put a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and then she felt how cold he was.

"Are you feeling okay?" She was alarmed now. "How much did you have to drink?" She climbed into the backseat and put her other hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes again and she shook him. "How much did you drink?"

"I don't know, some beer," he said tiredly. "I'm okay. I've had this much before."

"I don't like your color."

"I'm fine." Nathan jerked away from her hands and Haley sat back.

"I don't think you are. Luke and I haven't even talked to you in three weeks. And then I get a call from Tim telling me that you're both too messed up to get home."

"Thanks for the ride." Nathan tried to get out of the car but Haley grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Why won't you return my calls? Why won't you talk to us?"

Nathan remained silent and Haley sighed. "Forget it. I should try this again when you're sober."

He sat next to Haley and a part of him wanted to curl up in her arms but he couldn't. What he wanted from her he couldn't have and being around her, now that his family was falling apart, was too painful. Eventually she'd leave him, too. And the thought of that hurt so damn much that he couldn't breathe. And every single time he thought about Lucas he thought about what his father did, and how that had wedged his parents apart. It wasn't like he blamed Lucas . . . but he couldn't hang out with him right now.

Nathan dragged himself out of Haley's car and walked into his house.

His mother was waiting for him. "Where have you been?"

"Out."

"Nathan!"

He ignored her and went to his room.

* * *

Haley stood in the café staring into space. It had been two weeks since she'd dropped Nathan off at home, drunk and unwilling to talk, and she hadn't heard a thing from him since. Lucas was trying to look unconcerned for her sake but she knew that Nathan's silence was hurting him.

Haley looked up as the door opened and Deb and Dan walked into the together. The air was crackling with the animosity between them.

Lucas looked over at them and stiffened. Haley put a hand on his shoulder as they watched them walk up to the counter.

"Haley, I'm sorry to come by so late but Nathan hasn't come home and we were wondering if either of you have seen him." Deb looked worried.

"Sorry, we haven't even talked to him. He's been avoiding both of us," Haley said.

Dan glowered at no one in particular and remained silent.

Suddenly Dan's cell phone rang and he answered it quickly. "Nathan?!" he said.

Dan listened for a long time as Deb looked on angrily. He hung up, ignoring his soon-to-be ex-wife's outstretched hand and she snapped at him.

"Dan!"

"It wasn't Nathan, it was the sheriff. Apparently our son and some of his teammates stole a school bus and they were driving it around town," Dan said grimly.

"Are you kidding me?" Haley gasped. "How could they do something like that and think that they weren't going to get caught?"

"Apparently they didn't think of that because they were all drinking," Dan said.

"This is all your fault, Dan," Deb said bitterly.

"You're his mother. He's living with you but I guess it'd be too much to ask for you to keep him in line."

"You son of a bitch!"

"That's enough!" Haley raised her voice above both of theirs. "We've all stood by and watched you two play out your little drama but this is enough. I don't care how much you hate each other, Nathan's going to end up in some teen jail if you don't stop."

"Aren't you the little expert," Dan said nastily. "Maybe we should all sit down for a session of family counseling at your office or maybe we should just meet in your little dorm at the community college that you got into."

"Shut the hell up," Deb said. "She's just trying to help and god knows that with a father like you Nathan's going to need all the support he can get."

"And with a mother like you he'll be lucky if he can stay out of rehab."

A dead silence descended on all four people. The look on Deb's face was heartbreaking.

"Get out," Lucas said to his father. "You need to leave now."

"The disappointment finally speaks—"

Before Dan could say any more Haley grabbed the nearest thing she could reach and threw it at him.

A cup bounced off Dan's head and fell to the ground. Luckily it was made out of plastic and didn't break. Dan looked more surprised than hurt and Haley came around the counter, brandishing her spatula like a knife.

"If you don't get the hell out of here right now I'm going to call the police and have you arrested for trespassing. And then you can spend the night in lockup with your son," she said.

Dan sneered at her before turning and walking out.

Haley felt the tension leave her body and her hands dropped to her sides. She turned around to see both Lucas and Deb staring at her with identical expressions of shock on their faces.

"What were you going to do to him with that spatula?" Lucas asked.

Haley looked at it for a minute before shrugging.

Deb tittered and she and Lucas looked at her for a moment before they all collapsed into laughter. Haley leaned against the counter and tried to catch her breath.

"Thanks, Hales." Lucas gave her a one-armed hug.

Haley sighed and sat down on the stool next to Deb's.

"You can't let him get to you, Deb." Haley put one hand on the woman's shoulder. "You have to find a way to rise above it."

"I know." Deb tapped one fist on the table. "I know, but it's just so hard. Especially when he starts in on me being a bad mother." Deb started to cry. "I try to be a good mom to Nathan. I really do."

"I know that, Deb," Lucas said. "Nathan knows that, too."

"Dan and I were fighting right before Nathan left the house. You should have heard the things he said to us. He hates us both."

"That's not true, he's just mad at everyone right now." Haley walked back behind the counter.

"Yeah. I've tried to talk to him but apparently it's really my fault that you and Dan are getting a divorce," Lucas said dryly.

"Oh, Lucas. Is that what he said?" Deb closed her eyes tiredly. "I'm so sorry, I'll talk to him. I'm not sure what good it'll do, though."

Lucas turned to Haley. "Maybe you could get through to him."

Haley shrugged. "I'll try. He's been avoiding me, too. I'm not sure if he'll want to hear anything I have to say either."

"How could things get this bad? I always thought I had a pretty good relationship with my son and now it's like he can't stand to be around me."

"Deb, everyone knows that Dan's an asshole, so it's pretty much up to you to work this out. You have to find a way so that you and Dan can be civil, at least when you're around Nathan," Haley said earnestly.

"Easier said than done."

"We've got your back Deb," Lucas said.

"Thank you."

"Are you going to go bail Nathan out of jail?" Haley asked.

"No, I think that he needs to stay there for a while. He's been getting into some trouble lately but this is serious. He could really have hurt someone tonight," Deb said.

"Why don't I pick him up tomorrow? I can talk to him then." Haley offered.

"Would you, Haley? That would be great."

"Of course."

Deb hugged them both goodbye before walking out. Lucas looked over at her.

"Do you think he'll listen to you?"

"I'm not sure if I care whether he does or not, I just want to put my foot up his ass."

Lucas laughed. "That I want to see."

Haley rubbed the same spot on the counter over and over again and Lucas put his hand over hers.

"You're really worried about him."

Haley nodded. "I used to be able to read him, Luke. He's so much like you sometimes."

"I hold things back, too."

Haley snorted. "You're an open book. Nathan used to be one, too, but now I'm not as sure about him as I used to be."

"He's growing up, Hales. And everything with his parents . . ."

"I know. It's just that sometimes I wish he was the same little boy."

Lucas squeezed her shoulder. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

* * *

The next day Haley stood outside the police station as Nathan walked out. When he saw her leaning against her car with her arms crossed he paused for a minute before walking towards her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm giving you a ride," Haley said, her tone disapproving. "Get in the car."

She turned away as Nathan eyed her warily and slid into the passenger seat beside her. Haley drove around Tree Hill, she wasn't trying to go anywhere in particular and Nathan didn't seem to care. He just sat quietly as she meandered around the city. They finally came to a spot that overlooked the river and Haley turned off the ignition before getting out and sitting on the hood to stare out at the water.

Nathan sat in the car for a long time before getting out and glaring at her.

"I thought you were taking me home."

Haley turned to glare back at him. "I lied. I really brought you out here to kill you and dump your body in the river."

Nathan snorted and turned away.

"I can't believe how disappointed I am in you."

"Leave me alone," he said petulantly.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Real mature, Nathan. Would you like to throw a tantrum now? Make it a good one, the kind where you throw yourself on the floor and scream and beat your fists on the ground."

"Why are you even here? Did my Mom talk to you?"

"Yeah, she talked to me. She's feeling a little concerned since her son is acting like a jackass."

Nathan's voice turned nasty, "I'm surprised that your new boyfriend let you out of the house long enough for you to drive down here. Is he tired of you bitching him out already? The sex not good enough for him to put up with it anymore?"

Haley slapped Nathan hard across the face and his eyes snapped to hers, shocked.

Her voice was completely calm. "You aren't a child anymore, Nathan. You're responsible for everything you say and everything you do. Your parents are getting a divorce and that sucks. But you have to deal, because guess what? You're going to run up against things that are worse than this but you still have to be able to suck it up and move on. Everyone's got problems.

"Lucas had to deal with the fact that your father has never shown one bit of love or fucking concern for him—but he doesn't let that change him. He was able to be a real brother to you. In the same situation there are a lot of people who would have just written you off.

"I know that you're in pain but you have to know that your father loves you, so does your mom, and so do I. But don't you ever speak to me like that again."

Nathan stared at Haley and his eyes became brighter and brighter. He turned away so that she couldn't see his face and Haley watched his heaving back. She came up behind him and hugged him from behind and Nathan slumped back against her, crying as if his heart was broken. Haley felt tears sting her eyes but she held them back, holding him tightly as his chest heaved and he apologized.

Haley kept her arms wrapped around him until he was quiet again.

"It's my fault," Nathan said softly.

"What is?"

"My parents. They got divorced because of me. They've been fighting because of me." Nathan's voice was so low that it broke Haley's heart.

"You can't seriously believe that." Nathan turned around; Haley looked into his eyes and saw that he did. She sighed heavily. "Nathan, when marriages fall apart it's never the kid's fault." Nathan sat beside her and rested his head on her shoulder like he'd done when he was little.

Haley ran a hand over his head. "It's not your fault, Nathan. Look at me. I'd never lie to you. You trust me, right?"

Nathan nodded.

"This is not your fault."

Nathan nodded again.

Haley got up and started walking down the path that ran along the river. Nathan put one arm around her shoulders and she wrapped one around his waist.

"I come here to walk whenever I feel like I don't want to deal with anybody. You're the first person I've ever brought with me."

"What about Lucas?"

"Not even Lucas."

"Why would you need to get away from people?"

"Sometimes having five brothers and sisters can get old." Haley looked at the trees, the leaves were just starting go turn yellow.

"Yeah, sometimes having just one gets old," Nathan muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"No, really. What?"

"It's just that one of the things that my parents fought about the most was Lucas."

"Is that his fault?"

"Yes."

"I know you're smarter than that, Nathan."

". . . it's not really his fault, it was just easier to blame him. I was just being an asshole."

"Yep."

"Aren't you supposed to disagree with me?"

"Not when you're right."

"Do you have to be so honest all the time?"

"It's just my nature." Haley smiled.

"Yeah. I know."

* * *

Haley pulled up in front of Nathan's house.

"Go on, your mom's waiting for you."

Haley left Nathan's side to climb out of the car and Nathan followed her slowly. He looked at his door and then at the ground before looking at her.

"Haley?"

She turned around and saw Nathan standing there cracking his knuckles.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"The things I said . . . before. I didn't mean it."

Haley sighed. "I know that, Nathan. And I forgive you." Haley's gaze was serious. "But you should know that once you say something you can't take it back. Always remember that, even if you're mad or upset. Because there comes a point when apologies aren't enough anymore. Do you understand?"

"I do." Nathan thought about his parents.

"Good. Now hug me goodbye."

Nathan gave her a relieved smile and squeezed her hard.

"Oof!" Haley groaned. "I think you cracked a few ribs."

They both laughed.

"I'm going to be out of town next week but I'll be back in time for the game on Friday."

"Really?" Nathan said.

"Are you kidding? After you scored twenty-eight pointslast week? I wouldn't miss it."

How is it that she always knew what to say to make him feel better? "How did you know?"

Haley gave him a surprised look. "Just because I'm not around as much as I was doesn't mean I'm not keeping up with what you're doing. I'm Haley James, Heartbreaker."

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, I can't believe I forgot that."


	13. Chapter 13 Almost In Reach

**Chapter 13 Almost In Reach**

_March 6, 2012_

Nathan ran out onto the court and his eyes scanned the crowd. He could see his mom, Karen, Lucas, and Brooke sitting together. His Dad was over on the opposite side of the stands—of course—but no Haley. His smile dropped off his face. She wasn't coming. He was about to turn away when he saw a head of shining golden-brown hair rush into the auditorium and jog down the stairs. The girl looked up and his heart leapt. Haley. He saw her slide into a seat next to Lucas.

He waved towards the stands and his entire family waved back. Haley put two fingers in her mouth and gave out a loud, piercing whistle.

"Go Ravens!" she shouted.

He could hear her yell over the noise of the crowd and he grinned to himself.

Nathan stood to the left of his center and leaped forward when his teammate batted the ball his way.

Dribbling up the court, Nathan managed to shake off the player who was guarding him and went for the jump shot.

It went in! The crowd was on their feet cheering and Nathan ran back up the court. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Haley raise both hands in the air.

He grinned and focused on the person in front of him.

* * *

Nathan Scott had played one of the best games of his life.

Afterwards his entire team hoisted him up on their shoulders and even the coach gave him an approving nod. He looked over and Haley was jumping up and down while hugging Lucas and everyone around her.

* * *

"You were amazing," Haley said. Her voice was so soft that Nathan had to lean in to hear her.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I just lost my voice. It's totally your fault for making me scream like a maniac after you scored that three-pointer at the bottom of the third quarter." Haley cleared her throat.

"Sorry." Nathan grinned.

"I'll forgive you if you buy me a coke."

Nathan saluted her sharply and turned to put some coins in the vending machine.

"Pay no attention to Hales, Nate. She doesn't need any more money spent on her," Lucas said.

"Just shut up and look pretty." Haley glared at Lucas. "I can't stand a man that talks too much." She smiled her thanks at Nathan when he handed her the soda.

Brooke nudged Haley. "Where's Wes tonight, Hales? Wasn't he coming with you?"

"I had to leave him behind, he's got a ton of work to do."

Thank God, Nathan thought.

Karen asked, "He's looking for a teaching position at Lathrum High, right?"

"Yes, and I'm helping him with his application—which is why I've got to go."

"Haley, at least stick around for a couple more hours. We were planning on going out to dinner," Deb pleaded.

"I wish I could, but," Haley glanced at her watch, "I promised Wes I'd be back by ten. I've got to run."

Nathan's brow furrowed. "Can't you at least stay for appetizers?" He attempted a pitiful look and everyone laughed.

Haley narrowed her eyes at Nathan. "Don't even try to use that look on me, it hasn't worked since you were thirteen."

"Please? I want the whole family there."

"I've got to learn how to say no," Haley muttered. "Fine! One appetizer and then I've really got to leave."

"Of course," Nathan said happily.

They left and none of them noticed Dan standing off to the side, alone. He looked like he wanted to say something but he remained still as his son and ex-wife got into their car and drove off.

* * *

After dinner Lucas walked Haley out to her car.

"You got a job already?" Lucas said.

Haley nodded. "Wes told me about it. I wasn't really expecting to get it, but I'm so excited. I'll be a junior editor for Lang Publishing."

"I think I might go back to Duke after a year or so. But Brooke and I are thinking about taking some time off after she graduates next year. She wants to go to Mexico."

"Mexico?" Haley laughed. "What about basketball?"

"I didn't make the draft."

"Luke, I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "I didn't really think that there would be a lot of teams willing to take on a player that's had the problems I have."

Lucas had hurt his knee during his senior year. It wasn't as severe as the injury that had ended Dan's career but it was serious enough that he'd had to deal with the fact that his chances of playing professionally were limited.

"I could probably play in the European League but I don't think I want to leave Tree Hill again."

"You are the biggest homebody I know Luke." Haley shook her head at him.

"I'm just grateful for what I have. But what about you? I thought you'd be going back to California soon."

"I don't think I want to go back."

Lucas looked at her with surprise. "Why not?"

"I loved Stanford, but the most of the time I felt like I really belonged somewhere else. I guess I'm more like you than I thought."

"Couldn't make it without me, huh?" Lucas grinned.

"I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't look at your beautiful face." The sarcasm was dripping off Haley's voice.

Lucas pretended to preen. Haley slugged him on the shoulder and then reached up to hug him. "I'll see you later."

* * *

They were sitting in his living room and watching his highlight reel; Nathan was on the floor and Haley was on the couch behind him. When she saw him hit the shot that had won them the championship she laughed, scooted forward, and hugged him from behind.

He leaned back against her, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and pretending to watch the game. He breathed slowly so that he could calm down and slow the beating of his heart. It was hard with the feel of her body pressed against his back.

Haley was a very physically affectionate person, especially with him and Lucas, and he loved that about her even when he wasn't sure if he was grateful for that trait or not.

His parents loved him—at least his mom did—but they'd never been the kind of people who regularly gave out kisses and hugs. He hadn't considered himself to be the type of person who needed it until Haley had come along. He had a reputation at school for being a player but that wasn't really the case. He'd messed around with someone at school but compared to the other boys on the team he was practically a monk. But he did spend a lot of time with girls, who were happy enough to give him the casual affection that he needed. But there were times when he withdrew from them and it was no coincidence that it was whenever Haley was around.

Having her close made delicious shivers run up and down his spine but he had to remind himself that she wasn't singling him out for special attention—he'd seen her hold Lucas the same way. He felt an unreasonable spurt of jealousy and tried to push it back down. He knew that Lucas didn't look at Haley like he did but it was hard to understand how someone could be near her and not want more.

She released him to sit back on the cushions and he struggled to maintain his calm.

"Stop glowering at the screen," Lucas chided. "You look great, there's no need to be so critical."

"What?" Nathan's head snapped up. "I wasn't—"

"You were looking at the television like you wanted to give it a smack."

"It's fine Lucas, I was just thinking about some things I've got to get done tomorrow."

"Speaking of," Haley stood up, "I've got to get to work in the morning."

Lucas stood up and Haley kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug before walking out.

"What about you? Anything planned for tomorrow?" Lucas turned to his brother.

"Nothing much. I've been getting ready for prom."

"Right, that's next week. Who are you taking?"

"Shelley Jellesco," Nathan said confidently.

* * *

_ June 2, 2012_

"No way." Haley's mouth dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me, Deb. That little . . ." Haley swallowed down words that should never be used to describe a young girl. "Are you serious?"

"The little tramp just called, Haley! What kind of person breaks up with a guy six hours before prom? What is wrong with girls today?" Haley could hear how furious Deb was, even through the phone.

"I am so sorry. What was she thinking? Nathan is such a catch!" What kind of name is Jellesco, anyway? Haley fumed. It even sounded stupid. Jellesco.

"I know!"

"I wish there was something I could do. Maybe I can find this girl and pour punch down her dress."

"Actually, there is."

"Name it."

"I know that Nathan is really disappointed—even though he'd never admit it."

"Poor guy," Haley sighed. "Luke and I will take him someplace special tomorrow. He'll have such a good time that he won't even remember what's-her-name."

"I was wondering if maybe . . . you'd be his date for the prom."

". . . say what now?"

"I think that Nathan used to have a little bit of a crush on you, Haley. It would make his night."

"I really wish I could help you out but I don't think . . ."

"He's heartbroken, Haley. Just heartbroken."

"Oh, man." Haley suddenly felt very tired. "I don't even have a dress."

"I think I used to be around your size, I could lend you one of my old dresses."

"Uh, let me call Brooke and I'll get back to you."

"Great! I'll tell Nathan!"

"Deb, no, I meant I'd think about it!" Haley was talking to a dial tone.

Haley punched a number into her cell and waited impatiently for Brooke to pick up. When she finally did she blurted out, "You aren't going to believe this."

* * *

"The boy's mother asked you to take him to prom? Is he Quasimodo or something?" asked Laura, Brooke's roommate. She watched Haley get painted and primped with an amused smile on her face.

Brooke laughed and carefully applied blush to Haley's cheeks.

"No, Nathan's really handsome. It's just that his date flaked on him so now I'm filling in," Haley answered.

"Here, try this on." Brooke held up a yellow strapless dress. Haley slipped into it and Brooke clapped her hands excitedly. "It's perfect!"

"Brooke, I'm feeling a little exposed here." Haley tried to pull the dress up a little higher. She felt like she was practically hanging out of it.

"No, you look great. Like every high school boy's fantasy."

"Perfect. I can't believe that I'm doing this," Haley groaned.

"Oh, you won't be alone. I'm coming with you."

"Really? Brooke, you're the best. And I don't know how to thank you both for coming all the way down here when finals are next week."

Laura sat back and crossed her legs. "I felt like going on a road trip and Brooke needed a ride. I wanted a break anyway."

Brooke waved the compliment away. "You know I adore you Haley. I wouldn't leave you alone in this. Now let's do something with your hair and maybe I can find you a necklace . . ."

Haley glanced at the clock on Brooke's dresser. "I've got to leave soon so I can make it over to Deb's in time."

"I hope I didn't leave the thing back in Durham," Brooke muttered as she rifled through the huge bag that she'd brought.

"Don't feel guilty, Haley," Laura said. "Brooke would be insulted if you dared to go to some salon to get fixed up. She thinks she's better than those professionals."

"I'm just that good," Brooke said without a trace of false modesty. "Here it is!"

She held up a delicate gold chain that complimented Haley's dress perfectly.

Haley put it on and slipped on her shoes. "You're awesome, you're the best, and I'm going to love you forever."

Brooke managed to style Haley's hair quickly. "Get going, I'll see you later."

"Okay, I've got tons of junk food in the kitchen, you guys just help yourselves to anything."

Haley waved goodbye as she walked out the door.

* * *

Haley walked up to the Scott's door and knocked; Deb answered and her eyes widened when she saw her.

"Wow, you look great."

"Thank Brooke Davis, fashonista extraordinaire."

"Lucas' girlfriend?"

"That's her."

"Come on in, Nathan's still upstairs getting ready." Deb laughed. "I think he's more excited about prom now than he was when he asked Shelly."

"Well, someday she'll be sorry that she passed on the opportunity. Where's Dan?"

"Oh, he's out of town. Something to do with trying to sign some new talent."

Haley breathed a sigh of relief. She'd never liked Dan and she was sure he'd never thought much of her, but lately his animosity seemed to reach a new level. She was sure that their little confrontations over the years hadn't helped—but for the most part she stayed out of his way. But that didn't seem to help, whenever she was around he always made some idiot comment, and she had no idea what she did to set him off.

Nathan walked down the stairs and his smile widened when he saw Haley. Yellow wasn't his favorite color—at least, it hadn't been before—but it looked beautiful on her, highlighting the soft tan of her skin. The dress hugged her curves; there was a tie around her waist that emphasized her hourglass figure. Her hair was swept up into a bun and she was wearing a shade of red on her lips that made them look full and kissable.

"You look beautiful," he said sincerely.

Haley looked at Nathan with surprise. He looked so grown in his suit and tie. His hair, which was usually looked like he just got out of bed, was combed and moussed to perfection. His suit was conservative but his tie was dark blue and it made his eyes look startlingly intense. He wasn't a little boy anymore.

"Nathan?" Haley mouth dropped open. "You clean up nice. I had no idea you'd become so handsome."

"Well," he smirked, "it's a gift that I don't question."

Haley laughed and the strange feeling that she was meeting this person for the first time faded.

"You look so much better with that haircut," Haley stood up on her tiptoes to look at him, "I can actually see your eyes."

"I have a corsage."

"Pin it on me."

Nathan brought out the box and Haley was stunned again. It was a white orchid. Her favorite flower.

"Nathan . . ." Haley felt so sad for him. "It's really beautiful."

He pinned the flower to her dress and his fingers brushed the left side of her chest—his hands were shaking. She cursed that Jellesco chick to the depths of hell and smiled into Nathan's eyes. He seemed to relax a little and smiled back.

There was a knock on the door and Deb looked out of the window. "The limo is here."

"Limo?" Haley asked.

"You don't mind if we arrive in style, do you?" Nathan smiled but Haley could see that he felt a little anxious.

"I'd love to."

He left to talk to the driver and Deb pulled her aside.

"Haley," her tone was concerned, "are you all right?"

"It just breaks my heart that he did all this and the girl didn't even show."

"Mine too. Nathan planned out this whole night, and he wouldn't even let me or his father pay for any of it. He's been working at some pretzel stand at the mall for weeks so he could afford all this."

Nathan came back into the room. "Are you ready to go, Haley?"

"Ready."

"Hold on one second." Deb pulled out a camera.

"Mom," Nathan groaned.

"Be quiet, Nathan, and put your arm around Haley."

Nathan sighed but did as his mother asked.

Deb snapped off a couple pictures and then smiled at the couple. "You kids have fun."

Nathan and Haley climbed into the limo and as they pulled away from the house Haley couldn't stop from grinning and bouncing on the seats and looking at everything in the little minibar.

Nathan smiled at her. There were times when she seemed even younger than he was.

"You act like you've never been in a limo before."

"I never have been in a limo before."

"You're kidding!"

"Nathan, I barely have enough money to buy macaroni and cheese."

"But what about your prom?"

"Nope, not even for prom."

"Well, then I'm glad I could do this for you."

Haley smiled. "I'm definitely going to be the envy of every girl."

"Do you want some champagne and strawberries?"

"Champagne?"

Nathan pulled out two glasses and a bottle that looked pretty expensive.

"Where did you get that?"

"I kind of snuck it in here under my jacket."

"You're not old enough to drink yet."

"Well, how about you drink and I'll watch you?"

Haley took the bottle from Nathan and popped off the cork, pouring two glasses. "It's prom night," she said, handing him a drink, "you can't just watch me have fun."

They clinked glasses and sipped the champagne.

Haley opened up the skylight and popped her head out while Nathan laughed at her.

"Nathan, get up here!"

He stood up next to her and looked around.

"Isn't it a beautiful night?" Haley rested her arms on the roof of the car with her head tilted up towards the sky.

Nathan silently agreed and closed his eyes. It was warm but he could still feel the heat from Haley's body next to him, and he could smell her perfume. He wanted to tell the chauffer to just keep driving around so he could stretch out this moment indefinitely. But he knew it had to end so he tried hard to notice everything so he could always remember.

When they pulled up to the school Haley turned to Nathan suddenly. "I forgot to tell you that Brooke said that she'd be stopping by to help me out. She wants to make sure that I keep all this," Haley waved at her hair and dress, "perfect all night."

"No problem." Nathan didn't think a nuclear bomb would bother him right now.

As they walked in Nathan noticed guys staring at Haley with unabashed admiration. It made him feel proud and at the same time he felt like throwing his jacket around her possessively. He shook off the feeling and they made their way into the gym where the music was already loud and pumping.

"You want to dance?" Haley said, swaying her hips to the music.

Nathan nodded and they got on the dance floor. Nathan was an okay dancer but Haley looked beautiful. She always made self-deprecating jokes about being a klutz, but the way that she moved made him sweat.

* * *

Haley sighed and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Are you tired at all?" Nathan shouted over the music.

"A little."

"Why don't you go outside for some air while I grab something for you to drink."

"That would be great." Haley kissed him on the cheek and he froze with surprise. He smiled at her retreating back and walked over the punch bowl.

"Hey, man." said Tim.

Nathan nodded at his friend. "How's it going?"

"Okay, I guess. Theresa doesn't want to mess up her hair so we've just been sitting around all night. So Haley looks great, huh?"

"Yep."

"Hot. Very, very hot."

"I know."

"You going to hit that later on?"

"Shut up, Tim."

"What? All I'm saying is that if you have the opportunity . . ."

"No. We're just friends, okay? She's just taking pity on me because my date cancelled at the last minute."

"Really? Well, that was nice of her," Tim said mildly.

Nathan grabbed two cokes off the drinks table. "Later."

Haley was standing right outside the school doors. Nathan walked out and handed her a drink.

"Thanks." Haley drank down half the can. "I'd forgotten how hot dancing always makes me."

Haley sat down and Nathan settled next to her. "All the guys are so jealous of me right now."

"Jealous? Because you had to bring me to the prom?"

"Don't act like you don't know you're the best looking girl in the room."

Haley laughed deeply. "Oh, okay. You're right. I'm like Marilyn Monroe up in here."

"Haley James!"

Haley stood up. "Brooke, you made it."

"I said I was coming, didn't I? Hi Nathan."

"Hey Brooke," he said easily. Even she couldn't ruin this night for him.

"Haley, what have you done? Your hair's a mess."

"Just a little dancing."

Brooke sighed. "Whatever. Sorry jailbait, I'm going to have to steal your date for a minute."

"As long as you bring her back."

Haley blew a kiss at him as Brooke dragged her away. He knew that he shouldn't read too much into it but he felt his heart warm anyway.

* * *

In the girl's bathroom Brooke freshened up Haley's makeup and fixed her hair.

"So, how's your night been? Have you been having fun hanging out with the kids?"

"Yes, actually. I only wish that I'd had Nathan as a prom date when I was in high school. It's been like stepping back in time." Haley looked around. "Nothing's really changed."

"Well, good. You're all put back together. You can go out and vamp it up a little more."

"Thanks," Haley said. "This was really sweet of you, Brooke."

"Hey, the night's not over for me yet." Brooke pulled out a camera and gave Haley a smile that was tinged with evil. "I thought I'd take some pictures of the happy couple."

Haley's mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't."

"What, do you think I did all of this out of the goodness of my heart? You should know better, Haley."

"After all this time I should know that you don't have a heart."

"You hurt my feelings. Now get out there."

* * *

As Haley walked back onto the dance floor she ran into a boy who looked at her curiously before approaching her.

"Haley?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Tim, one of Nathan's friends. His best friend. I guess you don't recognize me when I'm not falling down drunk."

"Oh, of course." Haley smiled. "I can't believe we haven't really talked before now."

"Ah, well, I didn't really hang out all that much with Nathan until this year, we just kind of stuck together at parties and stuff before. I've seen you at a couple of the games, I think, but I didn't recognize you in that dress."

"Yeah, it's a real departure from my patented jeans and oversized t-shirt look."

Tim laughed. "Nate told me that you rescued him from stag hell."

"He told me he was paying for dinner and I'm a girl that can never turn down a free meal." Haley glanced around the room.

"I think that he had to use the bathroom." Tim gestured at the other people. "You want to dance?"

"Ah, sure."

He led her out onto the floor. Haley thought Tim had pretty good moves for a white boy, but he had a tendency to overdo it a little.

Nathan walked into the hall and saw Tim doing some twisted interpretation of the tootsie roll while Haley laughed at him. He walked up to his friend and tapped him on the shoulder. "Can I cut in?"

"Hell no!" Tim snapped his fingers to the beat of the music. "This is the first decent dance I've had all night."

"I think your date is getting lonely, Tim." Nathan's back was to Haley so she didn't see the message that was in his eyes._ Back off before you get hurt._

Tim rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you better save me one more dance tonight, Hales."

Hales? Nathan wondered.

"Sure, Tim." Haley smiled.

Nathan turned back to her again; glad to be rid of his friend.

"He's sweet. Goofy, but sweet."

"Yeah, he's a prince."

The music changed and they stayed on the floor for their first slow song. Nathan put one hand on her waist and she put a hand on his shoulder as they swayed gently to the music.

Haley rested her head on Nathan's chest and laughed a little. "I can't believe how tall you are. I can remember when you didn't come up to here on me," Haley held a flat hand around the middle of her chest, "and now the top of my head can't even reach your chin."

Nathan looked down at her head, there was a scent in her hair that made it hard to focus. "What? Oh, it was that second growth spurt that really helped me out. Haley, why is Brooke taking pictures of us?"

"Ignore her." Haley rolled her eyes. "She's just doing her Brooke thing."

"I can't believe that she and my brother are still dating."

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"Well, not at first. But she's kind of grown on me. Like a fungus."

Haley laughed softly and groaned. "That's disgusting, Nathan."

"Sorry." He was unrepentant.

They swayed together for a little while before Haley spoke again. "I'm sorry you got stuck with me."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've had a great time but I know that you're probably disappointed."

"Haley . . ."

"It's okay, really."

"Haley, this has been the best night of my life."

"That's really sweet."

"It's true." Nathan pulled away just far enough that he could look into her eyes. "You really made me feel like . . . I don't know . . . like you really wanted to be here. I don't think I would have had nearly as good a time with Shelly."

Haley grinned up at him and shook her head. "You have got some serious game, Nathan. Some girl is going to be so lucky when she snatches you up."

Nathan smiled and they kept on dancing.

* * *

Haley sat down and kicked off her shoes so she could stretch out a little. Nathan brought her another drink and she smiled her thanks at him.

"I made reservations at Wellmont's for dinner. We could leave now," he said.

Haley looked over at the clock on the wall, "If you want to mingle some more I can wait in the limo, I know for a fact that girl over there," Haley nodded in her direction, "wants to dance with you. She has been giving me the evil eye all night."

Nathan turned his head to look and then turned back quickly. "Then we should leave right now."

"What's wrong?"

"That's Jessica Kothran. She's . . . kind of a stalker."

Haley looked amused. "A stalker? What's she done?"

Nathan sat down next to her and leaned in close. "At first she seemed really nice and . . . normal . . . but then she broke up with her boyfriend, some guy on the baseball team. Tim told me that she thought that she'd hook up with someone else right away and she chose me."

"Being the fine judge of character that she is." Haley's eyes sparkled.

"She'd do things for me, cupcakes on game day, decorate my locker, stuff like that."

"That sounds kind of sweet."

"No, you don't understand. That wasn't the problem."

Haley leaned in closer and Nathan could smell her perfume. It had faded a little over the course of the night but now it hit him again, making his face flush slightly.

"She started showing up wherever I was—"

"A happy coincidence," Haley murmured.

"And then one day I was practicing late and I was the last one in the locker room. I finish getting dressed and all the sudden I feel like I'm not alone. I turn around and she was just standing there staring at me."

"That's a little spooky, but maybe she just has a crush—"

"And then a week later she announces on the loudspeaker that we're engaged and that we're moving to California where I can play for the Lakers and she can pursue her acting career."

"Okay. So she's batshit crazy, then."

Nathan nodded. "I'm a little scared of her."

"Don't worry, Heartbreaker, I'll protect you."

Nathan smiled. "My hero."

They got up to leave and Haley could see Jessica making her way across the dance floor towards them. Nathan saw her coming too and sped up, dragging her along as he almost jogged out of the door.

"Nathan!" Jessica said.

"Crap," Nathan muttered under his breath. "Jessica!" Nathan smiled widely. "How are you? Having fun?"

She shrugged. "I'm here with Robert but we just came as friends. Would you like to dance?"

"Oh, I wish I could but Haley's really tired and we're leaving now." Nathan put one arm around Haley's shoulders and held her to him tightly. Like a shield.

Jessica's eyes flickered over Haley. "I don't remember seeing you before. Are you a student here?"

"Uh, no."

"So you're . . . Nathan's girlfriend?"

Haley opened her mouth to deny it; then she saw Nathan's desperate expression out of the corner of her eye and sighed to herself.

"I just couldn't resist him, you know? So sweet, so charming, so handsome."

"So young. You've got to be almost thirty, right? What do you have to talk about?" Jessica's laugh wasn't kind.

Nathan had stiffened when Jessica had made that crack and Haley's eyes narrowed.

"Well, not many guys my age can keep up with me."

Haley shifted under Nathan's hold so that both her arms were wrapped around his waist. Nathan could feel her entire length of her resting against him and the action pressed the side of one breast into his chest. When he looked down he could see her cleavage and he closed his eyes briefly to try and regain his calm.

"But it's not really a problem, he's one of the most mature guys I've ever met. Don't you think so?" Jessica opened her mouth but Haley didn't wait for her to answer. "I just think high school girls aren't really doing it for Nathan but luckily I've got more than enough experience to handle him. It was so nice meeting you Jessica," Haley held the girl's eyes for a beat, and then gave her a brilliant smile, "I've heard all kinds of . . . things about you. Goodbye."

They walked away, leaving Jessica fuming behind them and Nathan could help laughing when they shut themselves safely in the limo.

"That was awesome, Haley."

"My career in L.A. is just waiting for me." Haley sat back. "I'd forgotten what these teeny-bopper girls could be like. Being here again is a little strange. I liked visiting but I don't ever want to go back."

"Neither do I." Nathan stretched out so that his feet rested on the seat next to Haley. "I'm ready for it to be done with."

"Come on, Nathan. You're too young to be over it yet."

Nathan shook his head. "I spent so much time being a jerk that most of the people who are worth knowing here don't want anything to do with me. I'd like a fresh start so that people can be surprised when I start acting like an idiot."

"You're not the same kid you were, you've become a great guy, don't be so hard on yourself. You were going through some serious things."

"Other people deal with more and handle it better."

Haley shrugged. "And other people never realize that they're headed down the wrong way and turn around. You did. Be proud of that. It doesn't matter if you mess up as long as you try to be better. That's all anybody can ask, that you try."

"Do you remember what you said to me the night you drove me home after I got drunk?"

Haley shook her head. "Which night was that? There were so many," she said with amusement.

"You said that life's too short to be an asshole."

Haley nodded wisely. "That's very profound."

"I have that quote up on my wall."

"No you don't." Haley smiled.

"I'm serious, when we get home I'll show it to you. Every day I wake up and remember that even if my day blows I have to deal with it like an adult."

Haley rested her mouth on her knuckles. "I'm really proud of you, Nathan. Not about the basketball scholarship—even though that's great," she added quickly, "but because of the kind of person that you're becoming."

Nathan swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Thanks." He looked out the window. "Hey, we're here."

"Great, I'm starving."

* * *

After they ate Haley insisted on going to Holly's, the local ice cream shop, so that they could make their own sundaes after he'd shelled out almost two hundred dollars for dinner. He sat across from her with a dessert that was identical to hers.

"Haley, you know that we could have been eating dark chocolate crème brulee, right?"

"Shut up," Haley ordered. "Now, what you have to do is take a spoonful of the chocolate ice cream." Nathan did as he was told. "And then you dip the left side of your spoon in the caramel . . . good. Now dip the right side in the hot fudge. Now blow on the spoon a little bit. Dip the front tip in the marshmallow crème and then into the crushed peanuts."

"Is that all, or do I have to do a backflip over the table?" Nathan asked.

Haley glared at him. "Now you can eat it."

Nathan put the spoon in his mouth and ate it quickly. "It's pretty good."

Haley was looking at him with horror.

"What?" he asked.

"That is not how you eat ice cream."

"You don't put it in your mouth?"

Haley shook her head and sighed. "Amateur." Haley licked her spoon slowly and closed her eyes. "You have to experience the cool sweetness of the ice cream and the warmth of the fudge. The caramel gives it a rich buttery flavor and the marshmallow brings its own kind of sticky sweet flavor." The tip of Haley's tongue came out to lick her top lip delicately and Nathan wondered how many times he could become aroused in one night before losing his mind. "And finally the nuts give it the perfect texture and taste." Haley opened her eyes. "That, my friend, is how you eat ice cream."

"Why don't you show me again and I'll give it a shot."

* * *

On the way home Haley and Nathan watched the streets roll by from the sunroof. Nathan told the chauffer to drive around and they laughed and talked until Haley glanced down at Nathan's watch.

"It's almost two in the morning! We'd better get you home before your Mom starts to think that I kidnapped you."

"Okay." Nathan hid his disappointment well.

After arriving at his house Nathan tipped the driver generously. They stood out on his porch and Haley looked up at him.

"Thanks for the best prom I ever had, Nathan. Really. I wish I could have had something exactly like this when I was eighteen."

"Well, thanks for giving me something exactly like this now that I'm eighteen."

"Good night." Haley reached up and hugged him around the neck and kissed him softly on the cheek. She wanted to say something about Shelly being an idiot but she didn't want to remind him about that now.

Nathan's head swam when he felt the pressure of her body against his and when she pulled away he tried to find a reason to keep her with him longer.

"Do you want to come inside? I'm sure my mom wants to debrief you."

"I've got to get going, I really didn't realize how late it was."

"Okay, I'll see you at dinner next week?"

"I'll be there. Bye."

Haley walked to her car and drove off. Nathan stood at his door for a long time, replaying the entire night in his head. He didn't want to go inside because that would mean that it was over.

When he finally went into the house he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and on the fridge he noticed that there was a note on it: "Nathan, I hope you had fun at the prom. I got a call from Ellie, one of the waitresses at the café. She's having her baby! I've gone over to babysit her two other kids tonight so I won't be back until late tomorrow maybe. Love you, Mom."

Nathan smiled and walked up to his room, pulling off his tie. He fell into bed wearing only his boxers and fell asleep thinking about his incredible night.

* * *

Someone was touching him, running a slow hand down his chest and Nathan opened his eyes to see her warm brown ones looking down at him.

"I'm dreaming," Nathan said.

"Of course you're dreaming," Haley said. "I'm not really here, but you can still feel this . . ."

Nathan's back arched off the bed as she stroked him and he sucked in a breath.

"Isn't this the way that you thought prom night would end? With me in your bed?"

"I didn't think, I _hoped_. But I knew it would never happen."

Nathan ran his hands over his dream girl's curves. She was wearing a short thin silk nightie that showed off her creamy thighs. He cupped her full breasts and she moaned as the spaghetti straps slid off her shoulders. Haley ran her hands over his stomach and leaned down to gave him a wide-mouthed kiss.

"You taste good," Haley murmured.

"I love you," Nathan breathed out.

"But you'll never tell me that, will you?"

"I can't. You don't really love me." Nathan ran one hand through her silky hair.

"I do."

"Not like I . . . not like I want you to."

Haley lay back as Nathan rolled on top of her. His eyelids trembled as he ground his hips against hers. He wanted to take off his boxers but for some reason he couldn't.

"Hmm. Maybe someday, when you're older and not in high school?"

"Is that possible?" He gasped as Haley arched her hips and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I do love you."

"Haley," Nathan moaned.

His head came up off his pillow with an abrupt jerk and he was suddenly awake. He fought to go back to sleep, as if he could will himself back into his dream, but the harder he fought the more alert he became. He finally gave up and rolled onto his back, unsatisfied, hard, and aching.

He wasn't a virgin but he hadn't been with even a quarter of the number of girls he'd supposedly slept with. He'd had fantasy after fantasy of climbing through Haley's bedroom window and being with her. His first time had been awkward and embarrassing and afterwards he'd wished that it had been with Haley. He had a feeling that with her it would have been different . . . better. And even if it hadn't it wouldn't matter because he'd still be with her. Every single time he was with a girl it left him still hungry for something, someone else. He'd almost given up on dating. Most of the girls weren't even interested in him, just in being seen with him in front of their friends. And the ones who weren't like that were nice enough, but they still couldn't be Haley.

Nathan eased off his boxers, wrapped his hand around himself, and closed his eyes again. He thought about how Haley had looked tonight, and he imagined ending the night with her walking up to his bedroom. He pictured pulling her dress down and exposing her incredible breasts while sliding his hands up her skirt to cup her bottom and pull her onto his throbbing arousal.

His hips thrust upward from the bed rhythmically; Nathan groaned and had Haley the only way he ever would, in his dreams.

* * *

"Hey, look at this picture." Brooke said.

Haley took the photo from Brooke. It was her and Nathan on prom night. They had their arms around each other and they were both laughing.

"You both look so happy."

Haley sighed, "It was a great night."

"Yeah." Brooke fingered the picture before looking over at her. "What did you guys do after the dance?"

"We went to a late dinner and Nathan had the limo drive us around."

"I think someone's still crushing on you." Brooke sing-songed.

"Nah." Haley whipped her hair into a ponytail. "That all ended when he got into high school and became their golden boy." Haley shook her head. "It was like, 'Lucas: The Second Coming.'"

"Lucas was a playa playa in high school?" Brooke looked amused.

"No, but he could have been. He dated some but he kept it pretty casual. I'm not sure about Nathan, but when he was younger it was kind of nice being 'the girl.' But I have been replaced many times over. His latest girlfriend was pretty serious, Deb tells me that Nathan was really hung up on Shelly."

"Oh, the one who ditched him before prom?"

Haley nodded. "I heard that he was getting really into her before that night and now he doesn't even mention her name. His mom's kind of worried because he's acting like he doesn't even care."

"One night with Haley James has cured his heartbreak." Brooke teased.

"No," Haley said thoughtfully, "I think that he's missing her, but Nathan has a tendency to sit on his feelings until he can't anymore. And then we have to brace for the explosion. At least, that's how he used to be."

Brooke nodded. "He really seems to have grown up this year. That's all Lucas talks to me about lately."

"How are things with you and Lucas?"

"You tell me." Brooke looked over at her. "Has he said anything to you about where we're going?"

"No, but I can tell that he's happy."

"Really?"

"Of course, Brooke. Why? Are you having doubts?"

"Not exactly. Things are fine. But that's the problem, it feels like this isn't moving forward. Are we just going to date for the rest of our lives?"

"Have you talked to Lucas about this?"

"I'm not even sure what I'd say."

"Just say that you want to take the next step in your relationship."

"Yeah, but I don't even know what that is. Should we move in together, get married? I need to figure out what it is that I want before I talk to him."

"If you can't maybe you should talk to him anyway. You could figure it out together."

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I'm tired of talking about me."

Haley's eyes widened dramatically and she pretended to swoon.

"Shut up," Brooke said good-naturedly. "So, how are things with your love life?"

"Nonexistent." Haley sighed. "There's this guy I've known for a while that I met when I was visiting Luke on campus."

"Who?"

"I think his name is Mark, but he is so not my type."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's just got this 'I'm so handsome and rich' air that annoys me."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a real turn-off." Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Hey, there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. This guy doesn't seem to know where it is."

"So what? Mold him."

"That never works."

"What are you talking about? Haven't you seen all the improvements I've made with Lucas since we've been dating?"

"You didn't change who Lucas is at his core, you just made sure that he doesn't wear denim overalls and windpants anymore."

Brooke shuddered. "He owes me big for that. But his horrible dancing wasn't on the surface—that went down to the bone. You have no idea how hard it was to get him to stop doing the hustle. It stopped being popular ten years before he was born! How did he ever—" Brooke shook her head "—nevermind. The point is, you can rebuild him. Make him stronger, faster, and better in bed."

"He's probably not even interested."

"Of course he's interested. Ask him out."

"What?"

"This is a new age, girl. If you want some, go get it."

"I'll think about it, Brooke."

"Hey, if all else fails the three of us can all move down to Utah and get married."

"Not into polygamy," Haley said dryly. "And even if I was I wouldn't be marrying Lucas."

"Why not? He'd just have sex with me and you could be like the swinger and occasionally go out and date."

Haley looked at Brooke for a long time, silently. "You scare me sometimes."

* * *

"I can't believe that we've known each other for almost ten years." Karen took a sip of her coffee.

"I can't believe there was a time when I didn't end the day with you, drinking coffee and talking. And Nathan's going into college; Haley and Lucas are starting their lives." Deb said. "Can you believe how old our kids are?"

"Yes I can," Karen groaned. "I feel like the mother of a twenty-five year old man. I feel it in my back at the end of the day."

"Well, I'm not old enough to have a son that's eighteen."

"Yes, you are."

"Then I don't _look_ old enough to have a son that's eighteen."

"I can't believe how fast he's grown up," Karen said. "I remember when he used to run in here every day after school."

"He loved it here so much, with you, Lucas, and Haley."

"He seemed so devastated when they moved away to go to college."

"Nathan must have moped around the house for a solid week after he found out that Haley was going to be going to an out-of-state college."

"He used to have the sweetest crush on her."

"I know." Deb smiled. "But now the latest love of his life is . . . Carrie Juline."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me."

"You're kidding. Even if I had some kind of medieval torture device, I couldn't get Lucas to talk to me about the girls he's dating. He won't even give me names, I've got to get all my dirt from Haley."

"He just comes out with whoever he's in love with this week," Deb shrugged, "it's great, I never thought my son would be that talkative about it."

"You must be putting truth serum in his food. Admit it." Karen looked at her friend with mock suspicion.

Deb just laughed.

"So the prom date didn't do any permanent damage?"

"I thought that it might but he's never really been serious with anyone." She took a sip of her coffee and looked at Karen worriedly. "Maybe I should be concerned about that."

"He's only eighteen. Most of them aren't even thinking about the long-term. When he turns forty and he's still single, then you can worry."

"But he's never seemed to date anyone longer than a month."

"Lucas didn't have a steady girlfriend in high school either, but he's been with Brooke for more than three years now. Nathan will find someone, and then we can look forward to being grandmothers!"

Deb groaned. "I am _definitely_ too young for that!"

* * *

Nathan opened his door and saw his best friend standing there.

"Hey, man," he said.

"Hey, Tim," Nathan said. "What are you doing here?"

"My date cancelled at the last minute so I thought I might get some of the guys together for a game. Do you want in?"

"Ah, nah. I'm doing something with Lucas today."

Tim looked at him knowingly. "Is Haley going too?"

"Are you trying to be subtle, Tim? Because it's not working."

"I'm just wondering when you're going to admit it."

"Admit what?"

Tim shook his head. "Look, it's _me_, okay? Who am I gonna tell?"

"Tell about what?" Nathan said stubbornly.

"You're crushing on Haley," Tim said bluntly.

Nathan just looked at him without saying anything.

"You've got to talk to somebody, keeping it all inside isn't healthy."

"If I was going to talk it be wouldn't be with someone who barely passed high school."

"You know what? Screw you." Tim stood up. "You really are the asshole everyone says you are."

"Tim!"

Nathan stood up and Tim started walking away. Nathan jogged to catch up with him and put a hand on his arm. He jerked away and Nathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Tim asked angrily. "What's wrong with me is that I've been wasting my time trying to hang out with the biggest douche bag on the team, that's what's wrong! Why do you think that I'm the only guy on the team who bothers to talk to you, Nathan? Huh?"

Nathan opened his mouth and shut it again.

"The guys are getting together to play a game for fun before we all leave for different colleges, and not one of them wanted you to be there. But I thought, like an idiot, that you might want to show up."

Nathan's jaw tensed. "I was going through some stuff, okay? Sorry I wasn't Mary Sunshine."

"We all go through 'stuff,'" Tim said sarcastically, "but the rest of us manage to make it through life without dumping it on other people."

"I haven't been acting that way lately," Nathan said defensively.

"Oh, congratulations." Tim clapped mockingly. "You've managed to stop cursing us out for one whole school year. That totally makes up for the other three years where you treated us like dirt."

"You're acting like it's my fault!" Nathan yelled. "Those guys didn't give a damn about me from the first minute I got there! What was I supposed to do, pretend that I'm not the best player on the team? They were jealous of me!"

"I know that. Don't you think I know that? I was right there on the first day, remember? Yeah, _some_ of they guys were a little jealous and they resented you. Fine. But some of the shit you pulled was just unnecessary. What about Jake? He never did a thing to you but you never let up on him, and he practically quit the team because of you."

"I just wanted him to be better," Nathan muttered. "He was a good player."

"Yeah, I'm sure the constant insults really made him up his game."

"I don't do that anymore," Nathan said quietly.

"No, you don't." Tim managed to calm himself down a little, but his voice was still intense. "Look, I get it, Nathan. I really do. I've met your dad, and you've met mine. I can guess what it must have been like for you at home." Tim shook his head. "But I'm tired of being dumped on."

He started walking away and Nathan said, "I met Haley for the first time when I was in the fourth grade."

Tim paused but he didn't turn around as Nathan continued.

"I've always liked her but lately . . . lately it's become something different." Nathan looked at his hands. "She cares about me, but it's Lucas who's her best friend." Nathan shrugged. "It's not that big a deal, it's only a crush."

Tim turned his head to look at Nathan, nodded once, and walked off.

* * *

Haley was washing her car and she was dressed in a blue t-shirt and jean shorts. It was conservative enough but she was completely soaked and her clothes clung to her body.

Nathan swallowed and slowed down for a moment before settling his face into his usual unconcerned expression and walking up to her.

"Hey."

"Nathan." Haley dunked a huge sponge in the soapy water and started washing the side windows. "What's up?"

"Luke and I were on our way to some book signing that he's dragging me to and we were wondering if you wanted to come."

"Uh," Haley looked over at the car, "I wish I could but this is going to take me a while. Next time."

"Sure," he said easily, not letting any disappointment show on his face.

Haley caught something in his tone and looked at him closely. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Haley hesitated, set down the sponge, and turned to face him. "You're so guarded all the time. It's like you put up this wall that nobody can get past, you do a really good job of wearing this mask that says nothing's bothering you."

Nathan felt his stomach hollow out. She could see that? He thought he'd done such a great job of projecting an image of careless confidence. Who else knew?

"I think most people buy it," she said, and Nathan wondered if she could really read his mind, "but you weren't always . . . I mean . . . you used to be so open."

"After my parents split up . . . no, it happened long before that. When they started fighting all the time there was nothing I could do about it and I didn't want anybody to know." Haley laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and he fought the urge to take it in his and pull her forward into his arms.

Haley saw the flare of emotion in his eyes and thought that his parent's divorce must have affected him deeply. He was still dealing with those feelings and they'd clearly become more intense since he'd been bottling them up for a long time.

"The graduation ceremony is in a few weeks, can you come?"

"Of course." Haley flicked some soapy water on her fingers at him. "You don't think I'd miss it, do you?"

"No." Nathan smiled.

He bent down to pick up the hose and sprayed her car down and on impulse, turned it on her. Haley just turned and glared at him, putting her hands on her waist.

"I'm already soaked, genius." Haley picked up her bucket. "But you're still perfectly dry." She gave him a wicked smile.

Nathan dropped the hose and backed away with his hands raised in surrender. "I was just kidding, Haley."

"Uh-huh." She stalked closer.

"I've got to be somewhere in fifteen minutes."

"Really?" She pretended to be concerned. "Well, then."

She lowered the bucket and Nathan put his hands down. Before he could move further away Haley heaved the water at him and it hit him smack in the chest.

"Arrgh!" Nathan shut his eyes instinctively and then he felt the spray of the hose as Haley soaked him completely.

He opened his eyes, dripping from head to toe, and advanced on her. She turned and ran but he caught up with her easily, lifting her off the ground and yanking the hose from her hands. He set her down on the hood of the car and Haley laughed hysterically as he sprayed her in the face.

"Stop! Stop! Mercy!" Haley struggled but Nathan was much stronger and she couldn't get away. She managed to get her hands on his shirt and pulled him off balance. He sprawled on top of her and dropped the hose.

Haley lay back, exhausted, and she laughed softly. Nathan pushed himself up; his face was very close to hers and he looked into her eyes. Haley felt a sudden chill and she sat up while Nathan rolled onto his back, sitting beside her.

Careful, he thought to himself. He had to be more careful. There had been a moment as he'd looked down at her, the drops of water running down her face and her wet body pressed against his, that he almost leaned down and kissed her.

Haley still felt cold and she rubbed her arms with her hands. "I . . . I've got some clothes you can change into."

Nathan banked the fire in his eyes and managed to smile at her. "Thanks."

* * *

Nathan sat at the James' kitchen table in a pair of Matt's old sweats.

"I'll give Lucas a call and let him know you're going to be late." Haley smiled at him. She'd changed into a thin white cotton top with matching pants and for minute he forgot about everything else.

"Haley," Nathan said.

His tone brought her up short.

"What is it?"

"I . . . do you remember what you said to me when we went to prom?"

"About what?"

"About you being proud of the person that I'm becoming?"

"Yes." Haley sat down next to him and looked into his eyes worriedly.

"I'm not sure that you should be."

"What are you talking about?"

"I just got into a fight with Tim and he told me . . . he said . . ." Nathan shook his head. "I said some things to him that I shouldn't have and he called me on it."

"Okay. And . . ." Haley gently prodded.

"The other guys on the team play with me because I can help them win championships, but they don't really want to have anything to do with me off the court—and I can't blame them. Every single time that I was pissed off at my dad I brought it with me to the game . . . and to practice."

Haley took a deep breath. "Except for a few times when I had to smack you into shape, you're not that way around me."

"You make it easy to be a good guy." Haley smiled at the compliment and Nathan felt the knot in his chest untie a little. "But I'm . . . am I like my dad?"

"No," Haley said with perfect certainty. "You're not. Maybe you're not perfect—but who is? At least you try. At least when you realize that you've hurt someone you apologize. I've never seen Dan apologize for anything."

Nathan swallowed painfully. "Really?"

Haley took both of his hands in hers and held them tightly. "Of course. You made mistakes, but your teammates did too. Make sure that you take responsibility for _your_ part in what happened on that team. Let the rest go."

"I think that my part is like ninety-five percent."

"It can't be more than eighty." Haley smiled.

* * *

The class of 2012 milled around the gym after graduation and Nathan held up his diploma. Haley and Lucas stood at either side of him as his mother and Karen snapped picture after picture.

As soon as they were finished Lucas and his mother walked off to the side to stand by Keith. Dan was there and neither one of them really wanted to say anything to him. Dan simply pretended that they weren't there.

"Thanks for coming," Nathan said as he shook his brother's hand.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it." Lucas glanced over at his father. "I think my mom and I are going to go."

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd want to go out to dinner with us." Nathan smiled slightly.

He'd long since gotten used to the conspiracy of silence that surrounded Lucas and their father. It was strange, even though Luke was his brother in every sense of the word, they never talked about Dan. Never. He'd stopped asking questions about the entire situation years ago and they all dealt with the issue by not dealing with it at all.

"Congratulations, Nathan," Keith said.

"Thanks Uncle Keith."

Nathan put his graduation cap on Haley's head and very carefully moved the tassel from her right to her left.

She smiled up at him. "I still have my graduation cap and gown in my closet."

"I guess you'll have one more cap, then."

"What? You don't want to keep it?"

Nathan shook his head. "Half my diploma belongs to you anyway, I have the highest GPA on team."

"I will owe you forever, Haley." Deb hugged her with one arm.

Dan rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Nathan would have done just fine on his own."

"I don't think so, Dad," he said.

"He's right," Haley said confidently. "You are brilliant on your own."

"Nathan, do you want to talk to your friends some more?" Deb asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be right back."

Nathan saw Tim standing with his stepmother and walked up.

"Hey."

"Nathan. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say congratulations."

"Thanks. You too."

They gave each other a very manly hug.

Nathan looked at Tim for a minute and then said, "I'm sorry."

Tim gave him a half-smile. "Okay."

He looked over at Mrs. Smith. "Nice to see you."

As he walked away she turned to Tim. "What was he sorry about?"

"Ah, he dropped my iPod a couple days ago and broke it."

Shelly grimaced a little. "Too bad. Uh, Tim . . . your father isn't going to be able to make it. He's trapped out in New York because of a meeting. He's really, really sorry."

Tim shrugged. He wasn't even surprised.

"But," Shelly hugged Tim hard, "I am so proud of you. I never graduated from high school and it was the biggest mistake of my life."

"You mean it wasn't marrying my dad?"

Shelly's face fell and she stepped back from him. "I didn't realize that you felt that way."

Tim was horrified. "No, I mean, for you! My dad's not good enough for you!"

Shelly smiled, relieved. "It hasn't been everything that I thought it would be, but no one's life is perfect," she said diplomatically. "But having a son like you is a huge perk."

Tim grinned at her and she pushed him gently. "Go party with your friends."

"I thought we're going out for dinner?"

"We can do that tomorrow. This is going to be one of the last times you might see all your friends together again."

"Thanks, Mom." Tim waved at her and went to join the guys.

* * *

Nathan returned to Haley's side. "I'm ready to go."

"I'll get the car." Dan walked off, obviously annoyed.

Everyone seemed to release a breath when he was out of earshot and Nathan turned to Haley. "Are you coming with us?"

"No . . . I don't think so."

"Come on, Haley. Obviously Lucas and Karen don't want to come and even my uncle is bowing out. Besides my mom you're the only one who can come."

"I don't know . . ."

"Do not leave me alone with him." Nathan grinned. "I might need you to threaten to gut him with a spatula if he gets out of line."

"Who told you about that? Was it your mother?"

Haley narrowed her eyes at Deb but she just laughed and held up her hands.

Nathan grinned. "Please?"

"Fine!" Haley grumbled. "The things I do for you, honestly. I have no idea why I'm such a pushover."

"It's my looks. Women can't resist."

Haley tried to give him a playful shove but Nathan dodged it and her heel slipped on the gym floor. She teetered a little and Nathan caught her deftly. He held her to him for an infinitesimal moment before setting her back on her feet.

"Damn these things." Haley put one hand on Nathan's shoulder and kicked off her shoes.

"Are you ready?"

Haley jerked around in surprise. She hadn't seen Dan walk up behind them. Nathan repressed the urge to pull Haley back into his arms. Dan looked closely into his son's face and he kept his expression bland.

"We're ready," Nathan said.

* * *

Haley nibbled at the chicken parmesan that she'd ordered. It was delicious but being in Dan's company was a little bit of an appetite killer.

Deb had managed to keep it civil for Nathan's sake. She didn't let Dan's subtle jabs get to her and Nathan answered his father's questions with similar equanimity. She'd think that Dan seemed a little lost if he'd been anyone else. He didn't seem to know what to do or say if he wasn't getting a rise out of people.

"So what are you doing these days, Haley?" Dan asked.

"Hmm?" Haley looked up from her plate with surprise.

"Dad . . ." Nathan felt the first stirrings of temper.

"It's just a question Nathan. Calm down."

"I've been working for a small publisher as a proofreader. It pays okay," Haley answered.

"I thought that with your degree that you'd get out of this backwards town as soon as you could. Aren't your parents leaving?"

"Yep. They've already sold their house."

"I suppose you'll be leaving with them."

"I don't know about that," Haley said slowly.

"It would be wonderful if you could stay in town a little longer," Deb smiled at her. "I really missed you when you were in California."

"There isn't that much opportunity here," Dan said. "Unless you're thinking about settling down with a factory worker or something."

"I can probably work online or teach. I haven't really decided yet."

"That's a waste of your degree, isn't it? I'm sure your parents didn't think that they were paying for you to become a schoolteacher."

"I paid my own way," Haley said. "I had a scholarship, loans, and I worked, but my parents would be fine with whatever I chose to do, regardless."

"I don't know about that." Dan laughed as if he was making a joke but none of them were fooled.

"Dad . . ." Nathan was about to say something cutting to his father but he stopped talking when he felt Haley's hand cover his under the table.

"I guess you wouldn't." Haley wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I had great parents."

Haley's tone was so mild that Dan didn't register the subtle dig right away. Before he could respond Haley rose from her seat.

"I'm exhausted, but we've got to do this again some time. Mr. Scott, it's been fun."

"I'll walk you out." Nathan stood up with her.

They walked out to her car together and Haley sighed as the night air moved over her face. She tossed a penny into the outdoor fountain then turned to Nathan.

"Sorry. If I stayed in there much longer I think I might have jabbed my fork into his thigh like it was a piece of chicken."

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I keep thinking that he'll be different." Nathan's eyes were apologetic.

"Please, don't even worry. Being around your father keeps me sharp, I've got to practice my insults on someone."

Haley unlocked the door to her car and turned around to look at Nathan.

"I can't believe that you've graduated," Haley moaned. "Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"I'm officially an adult. And before you know it I'll be talking about how the young people listen to crap and worrying about my 401(k)."

"Haley . . ."

"I'm serious! The fun's over."

"No it's not." Nathan stepped closer and Haley laughed at him.

"Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?" Nathan asked innocently.

"Lucas gets the same look in his eye when he wants to do something crazy."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Nathan's eyes flicked over to the fountain.

Haley held onto her car door tightly. "No."

"What?"

"You are not getting me in the fountain."

"Haley James!" Nathan grinned. "I wasn't even thinking that. But now that you mention it . . . " Nathan imagined seeing Haley wet and furious, with her dress plastered to her body. "I still owe you for that bucket of water you attacked me with."

"What?! You started that! And if you get this outfit wet I swear I will make you pay in ways you've never even dreamed of."

"Is that so?" Nathan said softly as he moved towards her.

Haley stared up at him defiantly—but she looked a little less confident as he moved closer. She felt her heart speed up . . .

"Nathan?"

He spun around and saw his mother standing there with a to-go box in her hands.

"Mom?" He walked over to her, concerned, as Haley slumped against her car with relief.

"I've had just about all I can take of my ex for one night," Deb said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone with him."

His mother laughed. "He can still get to me a little, but it's kind of a relief to spend some time with him. He talks his usual game but I think I feel sorry for him now. I can't believe that I wasted so much time caring about what he thought."

Nathan gave his mother a small smile and Haley stood up straighter. She hoped that Nathan was in a place where he could let the things Dan said roll right off him, too. But she wasn't sure.

"Would you like to go in and spend some more time with your father? He really is very proud of you."

"I think Dad's used up his quota for the month."

"Does anyone want to go back inside and tell him that dinner's over? I kind of packed up and left while he was in the bathroom." Deb tried to keep the grin off her face and failed.

"Deb!" Haley was shocked. "You ditched him? Did you even pay for your dinner?"

"Nope." Deb handed Haley the money she'd left on the table to pay for her entrée.

"You didn't!" Haley tried to maintain her faux shock but she couldn't and laughed.

Nathan looked at them both. "Why don't we just go?"

"That's too cruel," Haley said.

Nathan and Deb just looked at her.

"I'm serious. That'd just be too mean, even for Dan."

Nathan sighed and took out his cell phone. "Dad? Hey . . . I'm outside. Look, Mom's not feeling well, it must have been the fish that she had so I'm just going to drive her home . . . no, why don't you stay and finish up . . . yeah, bye Dad." Nathan hung up. "Let's get out of here before he comes out."

Haley got behind the wheel, shaking her head as Nathan and Deb practically ran to their car. They drove out of the parking lot and didn't look back.

* * *

A few days later Haley walked up to her home and saw the recreational vehicle parked outside. She walked up to it and knocked on the door. Jimmy opened up and grinned when he saw his youngest daughter.

"Can you believe this, honey? Isn't it great?"

Haley stepped inside and whistled softly. "I can't believe you guys can actually afford this RV."

"Haley," he actually sounded a little offended, "this is a land yacht."

"Excuse me." Haley smiled.

The land yacht was beautiful inside, it was fully decked out with a sofa, dining area, galley, shower, wardrobe and bed.

Lydia came out of the house and shook her head when she saw her husband showing off the GPS system.

"Hey, Mom. When are you guys going to try this thing out on the road?"

"We already have a couple firm offers on the house, so if everything goes well we'll be heading out at the end of the month."

"That soon?" Haley felt a little shocked that everything was happening so fast. Even though she was living in her own apartment, a part of her was still anxious about her home being sold.

"I can't really believe it myself." Lydia turned around to look at the place where she'd raised her children. "I think that your father and I must have been gypsies in a former life, we love to be on the move. I never thought I'd feel this way."

Lydia looked at the realtor's sign in the yard with a little worry.

"Mom, you're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"Not exactly. I'm happy about this," she looked over at her daughter and smiled, "and really excited. I just didn't expect to be so . . . sad. Every time we left we always came back—but that's not going to happen anymore."

"It's not like you can't ever come back," Haley said.

Jimmy came outside and put his arm around his wife.

"It's just that we're starting a new chapter in our lives—I guess that scares me a little," Lydia said.

Haley hugged her mom and they took a long look at the house before walking inside.

* * *

"You just left him there?" Lucas laughed so hard that he couldn't take a breath and lay on his side, gasping.

"I swear, Luke, I felt like we'd just stolen something and we were running from the law. Nathan must have been doing sixty coming out of that parking lot."

"And you just left Dan to pay for dinner?"

"Hey, he should be paying anyway."

The two of them were sitting in Deb's living room while Keith, Karen, Deb and Nathan finished their dessert. They'd started getting together almost every week for dinner after Deb's divorce had been finalized. Karen and Deb usually switched off the duty. When they ate at Karen's house she made dinner and when they ate at Deb's house she ordered something from a restaurant.

Everyone walked in to join them and Haley smiled at Deb. "Dinner was so delicious, I don't know how you do it. Different spices with the roast?"

It was a running joke with them to pretend that Deb had actually slaved over a kitchen stove instead of picking up the phone.

Deb gave Haley a playful glare and sat down.

"So are your parents ready to go?" Keith asked.

"Yeah," Haley leaned back on the couch. "Pretty soon I'll be the only James left in Tree Hill."

"The last woman standing," Lucas added.

"So are you going back to California soon?" Nathan asked, deliberately casual.

Haley glanced over at Lucas. "I think I might try going for a master's degree out here."

Her best friend looked surprised. "Here? You mean, like at Duke?"

After Lucas had graduated from college he'd decided on getting his masters in English so that he could teach when he'd finally realized that he'd gone as far as he could with basketball.

"Maybe. Or I might just take a break from school for a while and just work."

Nathan couldn't help grinning. If Haley did go to Duke then they'd be at the same school for the first time ever.

"You can take some time to decide," Keith advised. "You already have your first degree."

"I think I might sign up for a few classes this fall, maybe some extension courses in business management."

"Really?" Lucas looked at her with surprise. "I didn't know you were interested in that."

"I'm not." Haley grinned. "I just thought I'd try something new."

"That's great, I'll finally get to show both of you around my campus."

"_Your_campus?" Nathan scoffed. "They probably forgot about you the minute you got your diploma. Duke's my turf now."

"Your turf?" Haley smiled. "Which gang do you belong to, the Jets or the Sharks?"

Lucas laughed but Nathan just looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"Never mind," Haley said.

"What about you, Nate? Have you thought about what you might want to major in?" Lucas asked.

"I was thinking about kinesiology."

"Really? That's so great!" Haley smiled warmly.

"And right up your alley, too," Lucas said approvingly. "If you want to be a physical therapist or even a coach later on, having that degree will really help."

Nathan shrugged with a little embarrassment. "I'm a little worried about being able to handle all the anatomy and physiology I'd have to take, on top of practice."

"Don't be." Haley's eyes were bright with excitement. "You'll do great, I know it."

"Do you want some dessert, Haley?" Deb asked.

"No, I've got to run." Haley stood up and stretched. Deb prepared to stand but Haley waved her back into her seat. "Don't worry, I can see myself out."

Nathan got up to walk Haley to the door, he felt like he didn't see as much of her as he used to—even though she'd broken up with Wes months ago.

"Are you sure you can't stay?"

"I wish I could but I'm going to be busy tomorrow."

"It's the middle of the summer." Nathan shook his head at her. "You are such a workaholic."

Haley shrugged. "You know me. See you."

"Bye."


	14. Chapter 14 A Change

**Chapter 14 A Change**

_September 13, 2012_

"You're not starting?"

"I'm a freshman, Dad. They're not going to put someone who just came out of high school up first, no matter how good I was," Nathan said.

Dan had come up for one of his periodic visits. Nathan wasn't sure why he even bothered, all he ever did was complain about how he wasn't training hard enough, making the right plays, taking the right shots, hanging out with the right people, etcetera, etcetera. Whenever he left to go back home it was always a relief.

"If you'd listened to me when you were in high school you could've . . ."

"What are you talking about Dad? You only played for one year in—"

"And I did more with that year than you will do with your entire college career if you don't start listening to me!"

"Give it up Dad, okay?"

"You'd better start taking my advice or—"

"Or what? You'll fly back to Florida and leave me alone? Oh, the horror. Please don't do that." Nathan finished sarcastically.

"Unbelievable."

Dan was angrier at his son than he'd ever been but he wasn't self-aware enough to realize why. Nathan had been steadily drawing away from his father ever since he'd moved out of Tree Hill. The only time Dan was ever in town was when he had a game—he didn't care about the award he received for maintaining a 3.6 GPA or anything else that wasn't directly related to basketball. He hadn't bothered to show up to that event—Haley had practically been doing back flips when he'd received his plaque.

"Fine," Dan said. "Fail on your own. I'm done."

Nathan looked at his father skeptically.

"The only thing I've ever tried to do was give you the opportunity to be the best player possible and you threw it back in my face. You think you're so damn smart? In a couple years you'll see that the truth about the people you've surrounded yourself with. You think they can help you reach what you want?"

"So when you said that you were done I guess you didn't mean that you were done talking?" Nathan asked.

Dan turned and walked away.

* * *

Nathan walked into his first college practice session and had a profound feeling that he'd done this before. He laughed at himself, he had done this before—with Whitey four years ago. But this time he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut on the first day.

He'd thought that Whitey would forget about it, but he never did. To this day he called him "The Jokester." He'd hoped he would eventually take it easy on him but he never had, not once, and he was a better player because of it.

Dan had never had much to say about the coach and Nathan had no idea what kind of relationship they'd had. In his case, Whitey had pushed him to do better, and not just on the court. When he'd found out about Nathan's bus-stealing stunt he'd expected him to end his season. But when he went to his office Whitey had just looked at him before getting up and sitting next to him.

"I hear that your parents are getting a divorce."

"Yes." Nathan looked at the door.

"If you ever do anything like this again you'll be getting splinters in your butt, because you'll never get off the bench again. Are we clear?"

Nathan looked at him in surprise. "You're not going to pull me out of the game?"

"No. But if you get one bad grade or even one speeding ticket I'll make sure your senior year is a bust. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now get out of here."

Nathan looked around the Duke gymnasium and felt his excitement build. It was going to be an incredible year.

* * *

Haley adjusted the skirt that Brooke had recommended for her. It was okay but a little shorter than she was used to.

"Haley?"

She turned around and gave the man behind her a friendly smile. "Mark, thanks for meeting me."

"No problem," his eyes were amused, "it's not every day that a beautiful woman calls me up and asks me out for lunch."

"Thank you." Haley grinned.

They walked towards Kasey's, a popular restaurant on campus and Mark asked, "What do you think about our professor?"

"I like him, he actually makes business accounting seem interesting."

"What, you mean you don't think it's fascinating?"

"Do you?" Haley said. "Think about your answer because if you say yes this date might be over in about two minutes."

Mark laughed. "It's okay. I've been doing it all my life, really. My father made me handle the books for his business during the summer."

"Really? That sounds . . ."

"Really boring?"

"I was going to say . . . yeah, boring. I'm not even going to try and lie to you."

Mark laughed again. "That's why I took some time off to travel last year."

"Where'd you go?"

"Mexico, Japan, China, Australia, France. . ." Mark held the door open for her as they walked in.

Haley slid into the booth and picked up a menu. "Wow, I'm impressed."

"Have you done any traveling?"

"The farthest I've been is California, but I'm happy to stay put for a while—even though I'd love to see those places someday."

"I'm sure you will," Mark said confidently, "it's an amazing experience, I'd recommend it for anyone."

Haley looked into Mark's warm brown eyes and felt a little flutter in her stomach. She held up her menu to hide the slight blush in her cheeks.

After they'd finished their shakes Haley and Mark walked back to his dorm together.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to take you back home?" Mark asked. "It feels a little strange for you to be walking me to my door."

"I've got to meet up with a friend, and besides, you never know who might be lurking around here waiting to take advantage of you." Haley moved closer. "You might need some protection."

"Miss two inches over five feet is going to protect me?"

"I have a brown belt in judo," Haley said.

"Right."

"I'm serious." Haley had signed up for classes when she was at Stanford after a girl on campus had been assaulted. She'd only planned on taking it for a couple weeks but she found that she loved it.

"Maybe you can show me some of your moves next time."

"Maybe."

Haley's face was turned up and Mark leaned in to kiss her and she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Mark kept his hands away from any danger zones but he did slide one hand up her neck and moved her so he could throw them into a more involved kiss.

He bit down on her bottom lip lightly before stepping back out of her arms.

"Can I call you?" he asked.

"Sure," Haley said, a little breathless.

She stood there for a few minutes after he'd gone inside, smiling to herself before letting out a soft laugh and walking off.

Her cell phone rang and she picked up. "Hello?"

"Well?" Brooke asked.

"I'm not even going to ask how you could possibly know that my date was over."

"Do not question my abilities, Hales. He liked the skirt, didn't he?"

"He loved the skirt."

"You kissed," Brooke said with certainty.

"Why are we even talking? You obviously already know everything that happened."

"Details, James, or I'm gonna have to hurt you."

"He's an incredible kisser." Haley grinned.

Brooke practically squealed. "I knew it! Don't let him play hard to get when you see him again, get that boy in bed as soon as possible."

"Hey, I don't work that fast, I have a five date minimum before I start thinking about that."

"Screw that. Do you like him?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want him?"

"Yes." Haley giggled.

"So, have a little fun."

"Maybe. I'm not quite ready to let my slut flag fly just yet."

"By the way, dinner is at Karen's house this week. Spread the word."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later."

"I'll get you some birth control."

Haley shook her head. Only Brooke would use a statement like that to close a conversation.

* * *

Nathan shot another free throw. "Twenty-four," he murmured under his breath.

Haley watched him but didn't say anything, not wanting to break his concentration, but she wasn't sure if she could anyway. His focus was unwavering. She didn't think he'd notice her even if she jumped up and down and waved her arms.

"Twenty-five. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thir—" The ball was about to go in but it bounced off the rim and out of the basket.

"Damn," Nathan said mildly. He shrugged, picked the ball up again, and made another shot. "One."

"What are you doing?" Haley asked.

Nathan spun around. He only looked surprised for a moment before regaining control of his features.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You made twenty-nine in a row. Are you sure that you want to start over?"

"I have to do thirty before I can stop."

"Is your father making you do this?"

Nathan laughed. "Not anymore."

"Is one really going to make a difference?"

"One shot can decide a game." Nathan let the ball roll out of his fingers. His form was perfect. "Two."

"I suppose." Haley shook her head.

"What are you doing here?"

"Lucas told me that you'd be here and I wanted to check up on you. I was worried that we might see a repeat of your first day with Whitey."

Nathan laughed. "Everything went great. Nobody hates me yet."

"Always a good sign."

Nathan shot again. "Three."

Haley smiled appreciatively. "I could never do what you do."

"Of course you could."

Haley walked up and stopped at the edge of the court. "Even if I had the interest or the talent, I don't have the discipline."

Nathan tossed the ball to her and she caught it, which was a surprise to her. The last time she tried to play basketball with Lucas they'd agreed—for the sake of their friendship—to never do it again.

"I've seen you spend hours working over your papers, agonizing over one paragraph. This isn't any different."

"I think it's a little different. You have the strictest schedule I've ever seen."

"It's not that bad. Besides, being focused in training helps me maintain control in other areas of my life."

"Like what?" Haley tried dribbling the ball and it hit her foot and skittered away. She laughed at herself as Nathan scooped up the ball easily.

Nathan ignored her question. "Come here."

"I don't know, Nathan. If I put one foot on your court I might jinx it."

"I'm too good for you to jinx me."

"Modest." Haley moved forward so that she could stand next to him on the free throw line.

Nathan handed her the ball. "Try and make one."

"I don't know . . ."

"I let you look over my crappy papers."

"Your papers aren't as bad as my shooting." Nathan just raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how horrible I really am."

Nathan didn't say any more, he just looked at her and Haley shrugged and tried to put the ball up. It didn't even come close to the basket. It didn't even hit the backboard.

"See?" Haley said.

Nathan ran to retrieve the ball. "Okay, I might have to rethink being seen with you in public."

"Shut up. I'm leaving, because this is embarrassing.

Haley tried to walk away but Nathan caught her and put the ball back in her hands. She struggled but he put his arms around her waist and lifted her up; he ignored her protests and put her back on the line.

She glared at him but he just moved behind her and said, "Square your shoulders to the basket."

Haley rolled her eyes but she did it.

"Put your hands up . . . like this . . . support the ball with your right and guide it with your left . . . good."

His voice was so calm it was almost hypnotic and she just did as he said. Haley knew that Nathan was never more at ease than when he was playing. He'd had his moments where he'd lost his temper and made some questionable choices when he was younger—but even with all of that she couldn't really characterize his behavior as hot-headed. He usually kept himself in check—until he couldn't push it down anymore and said or did something explosive. But the quietness he displayed off the court wasn't serenity, it was . . . repression. That was the word she was looking for. Nathan played from the heart but when he didn't have a ball in his hands it was like he took all his emotions and stuffed them down deep inside.

Nathan put his hands on her waist and pushed down gently, "Bend your knees."

Haley felt herself relax, which she never did when involved with a sport that didn't involve a bowling ball or a ping-pong table. She just let him guide her.

"Now shoot."

Nathan was so close that he could feel Haley's warmth, smell her hair, and sense the way her body moved when she shot. He didn't even need to look to know that the ball went in, nothing but net.

"I did it!" Haley laughed and jumped into his arms, hugging him hard. "I tried to get Lucas to show me how to do this and the experience nearly killed us both."

Nathan held her a little longer, enjoying her excitement, before setting her down.

"That was good, and you looked sexy doing it, too."

Haley looked a little surprised at that. Nathan turned away and covered his slip by bending down to pick up the ball.

She smiled cheekily. "Well, thank you. I'd better hit the town before it wears off."

"I'd better get started again or I'm going to be here all night."

"Okay." Haley started to back away. "Dinner's at Karen's house this week. You'll be there?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

Haley left and Nathan started shooting again. He missed five in a row and he sat down on the bleachers to relax for a couple minutes. His focus was completely shot—being around Haley always unbalanced him—and he waited for the feeling to pass so that he could regain control.

* * *

It was Nathan's first college game—well, not his first. He'd been on the team for months but this was the first game where he'd actually be playing. Haley sat in the stands by herself for the first time ever. She was a little surprised Dan hadn't been able to make it. Even though Tallahassee had been hit by some bad weather she'd thought it would take a tsunami to keep Dan Scott away. She'd left Lucas at home**;** he'd been brought down by a stomach virus.

When she'd seen him he'd told her, "I'm not dying. I just wish that I was."

She'd thought about inviting Mark along, they'd been seeing each other at least three times a week and he was amazing. She wasn't sure if she was ready to introduce him to her entire gang yet even though he'd already met Lucas and Nathan. She and Brooke had been all over every detail of their relationship and they'd agreed that Mark seemed to be really into her. They'd just had a date yesterday and she didn't want to seem too pushy.

Karen had to stay home and work because the person who was covering her shift suddenly cancelled; Deb was stuck out in California helping her parents—her dad had had some chest pains and even though he was fine they were still shaken up; and Dan's flight out from Florida must have been cancelled suddenly because of flooding.

Haley clutched her Blue Devils flag in her hands as she watched Nathan run out onto the floor in his warm-up suit. She jumped up to cheer and wave it over her head when the game started and they announced the starters. Somehow Nathan's eyes found hers, even in the sea of faces, and he nodded at her.

* * *

The Devils had lost. Haley tried to work her way down to the edge of the bleachers so that she could tell Nathan that he'd been great anyway, but the crowd was so heavy that she gave up and walked downstairs, near the locker rooms. Hopefully Nathan saw her wave and would meet her down there.

"Hey," said a deep voice behind her.

Haley whirled around and saw an Eagles player towering over her. He was still winded from the game.

"I'm Chad Thatcher. Who are you back here waiting for?"

"Haley James." She shook the hand that he offered her. "I'm a friend of Nathan's."

Chad's expression altered slightly and he laughed. "Oh, a 'friend'? He's lucky to have such beautiful friends."

"Thanks." Haley began to feel a little uncomfortable—even though Chad hadn't really done anything—but she wasn't the kind of woman who ignored her instincts. Suddenly she noticed that the bustling activity was gone and the two of them were standing there alone.

"We used to play against each other at every single basketball camp in North Carolina. His father was such a hard-ass. Is he here?"

"He couldn't make it." Haley glanced over his shoulder.

"That's too bad." Chad smiled but it only made her more uncomfortable.

"Well, nice meeting you," Haley said briefly. She started to walk back towards the bleachers when she felt his large hand fall on her shoulder.

She jerked away from him and spun around to face him while walking backwards so that she wouldn't have her back to him.

"Calm down." Chad held up his hands, "I just wanted to ask you to give Nathan a message for me."

Haley didn't stop moving. "I think you should know better than to get grabby with women you don't know."

Chad snorted. "You girls all like to play this game."

At that, the little alarm that had been tinkling in Haley's mind starting ringing like the Liberty Bell and she turned to run. Before she could get two steps Chad had grabbed her shoulder, spun her around, and had her slammed up against the wall.

"I bet you aren't like this with Nathan, right? I'll bet you're a little nicer, then. Only go for the star players?" he hissed. "I hope you noticed that we won tonight, your boyfriend's playing in a different league now."

"Get off me!" Haley tried to scream but he clapped a hand over her mouth.

Haley went limp and let her weight pull her out of his arms and onto the floor. As soon as she hit the ground she kicked upwards as hard as she could and landed a glancing blow on Chad's groin.

He groaned and doubled over but he managed to stumble after her when she got to her feet. The hit was enough to hurt him, but not to stop him.

Her eyes were watering so she couldn't really see where she was going and she ran smack into what felt like a wall when another set of arms wrapped around her. She started to struggle and then she heard the voice that belonged to them.

"Haley?"

"Nathan!" She stared up at him and then crumpled into his embrace while he looked uncomprehendingly at her disheveled state and then up at Chad who looked even worse.

For a minute he was too stunned to realize what had happened but then it snapped into place. His face didn't change expression when he launched himself at Chad.

For Nathan, it was like time slowed. He felt himself gently set Haley aside and then without realizing how it happened his knuckles hurt. His knuckles hurt because they struck Chad's face again and again and again.

Then people were holding him back, pulling him off, he didn't even recognize his teammates. All he wanted at that moment, more than anything else in the world, was to have his hands around that bastard's throat.

* * *

Haley sat in Nathan's apartment at his coffee table, putting medication on his bruised fingers; her touch was sure and gentle. He tried to look in her eyes but she kept her gaze fixed firmly on his hands.

"You're going to be a little sore for a day or two but you should be fine," she said, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Thanks." Nathan looked at her closely.

She got up to throw away the cotton balls and band-aid paraphernalia but Nathan caught her hands and made her sit in front of him.

"Are you okay? You haven't said anything about what"—Nathan swallowed back the rage—"Chad did."

Haley shrugged. "I'm fine. I managed to get away from him, I think that I would have been able to escape even if you hadn't shown up. I'm . . . fine."

"You're not fine," Nathan said bluntly. "And I'm not fine."

Haley finally looked at him and she smiled gently, but her eyes remained dry. His weren't.

"I'm a little shaken up," she admitted.

"We should call . . ." Nathan hesitated, "Mark."

Nathan didn't like the guy, he'd never liked any of Haley's boyfriends. But even he had to admit that he was good to Haley.

"I . . . no."

"Or your parents and Lucas—"

"No!"

"Haley . . ."

"No. I don't want to call anybody. My parents will be worried but it's over. And Lucas will just get upset and he's sick right now and I don't feel like bothering him about this."

"Bothering him?" Nathan looked incredulous.

Nathan didn't even think, he just pulled Haley into his lap and held her tightly. She kept her arms crossed tightly until she began to shake and then she wrapped them around him and held him fiercely.

"I would never let anything happen to you," Nathan whispered in her ear.

She didn't reply, she only hugged him tighter.

Nathan woke up in his bed with a start, hours later, and stared up into the dim light that came through the window. He turned his head to look at the clock: six in the morning.

Haley was curled into his side, one leg and one arm draped over him. He'd carried her into his room but he hadn't wanted to leave her. He'd sat on the edge of the bed holding her hand. He must have fallen asleep and laid down next to her.

He felt his body react to her nearness and cursed himself for being the worst kind of pig. She'd just been attacked and he woke up next to her hard and wanting.

He slid out of bed carefully and slipped into the bathroom. Nathan stared at himself in the mirror before grabbing the sides of the sink hard and letting his head hang until he got control of himself again.

He walked back to the bed and looked at her. She shivered and reached out a hand and he sat down to look at her. She was breathing peacefully and the intimacy of it made a feeling rise in his chest that almost felt like pain.

She stirred and he spoke quietly.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," he whispered.

Haley smiled, woke up slightly, and stretched out a hand to touch him. "Nathan," she said softly.

She slipped back under without a ripple and Nathan stood up with his heart in his throat. He wanted to climb back into bed with her and hold her close. He stared down at her sleeping face for a long time; then pulled a blanket over her and walked out.

* * *

_February 16, 2013_

Mark sat next to Haley at the dinner table and the man's manners were impeccable, Karen and Deb were completely charmed. Nathan was polite but inside he was seething. Haley had never invited one of her boyfriends to their dinners. Even though Mark was perfectly nice he felt like the man was an intruder.

"I can't believe that Nathan's going to be starting his sophomore year in September." Deb said, a little dazed. "Where is the time going? I swear that the years are passing by faster and faster."

"Tell me about it." Karen said ruefully. "Some of the girls who used to work for me are having children of their own."

Keith smiled at her, "I worked a full shift at my shop yesterday instead of letting the guy I hired handle it and I'm still feeling it."

"I feel for you guys," Lucas interjected, "I really do."

"I thought I taught you to keep quiet when grown-ups are talking," Karen teased.

"I don't think that lesson ever really took."

"Oh, Deb," Karen said, "How's your dad?"

"He's feeling much better, my mom has him on a strict diet. She's trying to get him down to their place on Malibu." Deb took another bite of her rigatoni.

"Do your parents ever have time to use their beachfront property, Mrs. Scott?" Mark asked.

"Please, call me Deb. And, no, they've been renting it out for the past couple years. My dad likes to stay at the house they have near San Jose."

"That's a smart move, my father has been renting out properties there and it's a great investment."

Nathan barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Why was it that he was the only one who seemed to be annoyed with Mark? The man sat there and managed to eat Karen's rigatoni without getting one drop of sauce on himself or his napkin. That was just unnatural.

"Haley tells me that your parents live in Montana." Brooke smiled at Mark.

"They used to live in California too but they wanted some peace and quiet so they moved out there three years ago."

"Not much of anything to do there, right?" Nathan asked.

"Not really," Mark turned to Haley, "when we go there to visit make sure that you pack all your favorite DVDs."

Brooke smiled slightly and asked another question but Nathan had already tuned everything out. He excused himself as soon as possible and went up to his old room.

He lay on his bed, tossing his basketball in the air.

"Did you hear that, Hales?" Brooke's excited whisper carried into his room. "He wants you to meet his parents."

"Calm down," Haley could hardly contain her grin, "he was just posing a hypothetical. He wasn't really asking me."

"Trust me, he was asking. He's just being smooth about it."

Haley laughed quietly. "I know better than to doubt you."

Their voices moved off and Nathan sat up. He had to get out of here.

A while later he was on the Rivercourt. His exertions made him sweat and he ripped off his shirt and kept going. Finally he exhausted all the frenetic energy that had built up inside him while he'd watched Mark sit there with his arm on the back of Haley's chair and while he smiled over at her and moved the hair out of her face.

Nathan sat down at the bench and put his head in his hands. He was overreacting. Mark was just another guy. Haley seemed to like him a lot but he didn't need to worry, she'd break up with him soon.

But he couldn't do this anymore. He was tired of watching Haley with other guys; seeing them with her made him feel like he was twice his age. When Haley looked at him she didn't see a young man, but he just needed a little more time . . . he just needed to be a little older. He would talk to her, soon. Mark would be the last man he'd watch take what should be his place in Haley's life.

* * *

"I'm getting married!"

Karen's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God. How? When?"

"Mark popped the question this weekend!"

They were all over at Deb's house, sitting in the living room after dinner. Haley had seemed a little preoccupied but he hadn't realized that it was because of the announcement she'd just sprung on them all.

Nathan just stood there, completely floored, while Brooke, Karen, and his mother hugged Haley excitedly. Lucas seemed to be surprised too, he just blinked at Haley. It wasn't possible that things had gotten this serious with Mark.

He must have smiled and said all the right things because no one seemed to notice that anything was amiss with him.

He walked up to his room—numbed and shocked—and laid back on his bed. He tossed his basketball up in the air: watching it rise and fall, rise and fall.

* * *

"I really can't believe this." Brooke was still stunned, hours later. "Isn't this a little fast?"

"You're always the one telling me that I should be more impulsive."

"Yeah, but I meant when you're shopping. This . . . this is big."

"I know." Haley grinned happily. "Don't worry, we're going to have a long engagement, but he's just so . . ." Haley threw her hands in the air.

"You've got to let me throw the bachelorette party."

"Okay," Haley said warily, "but when the party's over I still want to be engaged, so nothing too wild."

"Don't worry, I'm saving the male prostitute for when I get married."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "Does that mean . . ."

"Not yet, but I know we're headed that way."

Haley took Brooke's hands. "I'm going to need you to help me with the dresses for my maids of honor."

"No problem. I can find three dresses with my eyes closed."

"Four."

"What? I thought you had three sisters."

"Three sisters and you."

Brooke grinned and her eyes became suspiciously bright. "I can't believe that you asked me to be your maid of honor like this!"

"Did you want me to get down on one knee?" Haley teased.

Brooke hugged Haley and then flitted out the door. "I've got to go shopping."

"We haven't even set a date for the wedding yet!" Haley called after her.

"So?"

* * *

Practice was not going well. Nathan was playing okay, but that definitely wasn't good enough for the coach, and it definitely wasn't good enough for him.

He dribbled the ball up the court. He faked the left when Ken Dorisman, a sophomore, tried to guard him.

He put the ball up but Ken managed to smack it out of his hands.

"Nathan!" Omar, the assistant coach, yelled. "Get your mind back in the game! What's wrong with you?"

Nathan gritted his teeth and ran back to the other side of the court. He didn't get there in time to stop them from scoring. He took the ball back to the basket again, and Ken tried to get in his way. He charged forward, bowling the other player over and dunking the ball hard.

"What the hell!" Ken got up of the floor and got in Nathan's face.

"You want to start something?" Nathan taunted.

One of the other players got between them. Omar's blood pressure seemed rise ten points in an instant. "Get over here, Scott." he ordered.

Nathan jogged over, his expression set.

"What the fuck was that?"

Nathan remained mutinously silent.

"I said, what the fuck was that?"

"Nothing, I was trying to . . ."

"Trying to take out one of our players during practice? Is there something that's on your mind? Anything I can help you with?" Omar asked sarcastically.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Get the fuck off my court."

"It would be my pleasure." Nathan stalked away.

* * *

"What is going on with you, Nathan?" Deb asked.

"Nothing."

"This is obviously not nothing. Your grades are horrible, I haven't heard from you in weeks and now you're fighting with your teammates? Do you want to get thrown off the team?"

"Mom, back off!"

"There must be something seriously wrong if you think that you can speak to me that way." Deb stared him down.

". . . I'm sorry."

"Talk."

"I can't, Mom. I just can't."

"You can't talk about it, or you can't talk about it with me?"

Nathan shrugged. "Both."

"Maybe Lucas . . ."

"No! No, I can't talk to Lucas about it."

"You've got to give me something to go on here, Nathan. Because right now all these worst-case scenarios are running through my head."

"I'm not on drugs or anything, Mom." Nathan sighed.

"I'm glad to hear that. So what is it? Woman trouble?"

Nathan tensed.

"I see. Who is she?"

Nathan remained silent.

"Can I get a name . . . no? Come on, you used to talk to me about the girls in your life all the time."

"It's over. I mean, it never even started but now it's over."

"I've never seen you like this over a girl, you've always kept your relationships so casual."

"Mom, do we have to talk about this?"

"Look, Nathan, you've never even had one serious girlfriend. I mean . . . are you gay?"

"Mom!"

"What? It wouldn't matter to me, Nathan. I love you no matter what."

"Mom! I'm not gay!"

"It's just that I heard that when young men start acting up sometimes it's because they're confused about their sexuality."

"Mom! Please!"

"Okay. So you're not gay."

Nathan sat down and put his head in his hands. "Look, I had feelings for a girl and she doesn't feel the same way about me and I guess I let it get to me."

"Oh, Nate. I'm sorry."

"Me too." Nathan's voice broke a little. "I've got to go."

"Nathan, you don't have to be alone all the time. It's okay to let people help you."

"I know."

"So what's her name?"

Nathan sighed. "Rachel Gattina. Can we just keep this between us? I don't really want to talk about it."

"Of course, Nathan. So you liked Rachel?"

"Yeah, I really did. She's gorgeous, smart and funny. And now she's with someone else," he finished quietly.

"Nathan, does she know how you really feel about her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because she's in love with this other guy, I can tell."

Deb sighed. "Then you have to let go."

"I'm trying."

"I don't mean just telling yourself that you have to let her go. You have to stop spending time with her. Try to limit your contact with her for at least a couple months. Give yourself some time to heal and maybe afterwards you'll be able to look at her and just see a friend."

"Maybe."

"Look, when your father and I got divorced it was really hard when I found out that he was dating again."

Nathan's attention sharpened. "Really? But you hated Dad."

"I was angry at him, I thought that I did hate him. But I wouldn't have been so angry if I hadn't cared about him. It took me a long time to move past it."

"Mom, you still can't stand Dad."

"Hey, I can be in the same room with him without wanting to hit him on the head with my vase." Deb looked over at it**;** the thing was made out of stone and weighed at least forty pounds. "I call that progress."

Nathan smiled. "Thanks Mom."


	15. Chapter 15 A Wedding And A Funeral

**Chapter 15 A Wedding And A Funeral**

_April 4, 2013_

"You sure you want to give up your apartment, Hales?" Lucas asked. "I was looking forward to having you in Tree Hill during the last summer we'll have together before you're officially a married lady."

Haley laughed and shrugged. "I spend most of my time in Durham with Mark anyway, there's no point in paying rent when I'm not even here five days out of the week."

"I guess that make sense."

"Don't sound so down about it, all this means is that I'm going to be crashing at your house whenever I'm in town."

"Considerate."

"You know you love it when I impose myself on you."

Lucas taped up the last box and Haley looked at him thoughtfully.

"Where's Nathan?" she asked.

"He told me that he had to meet a friend for coffee. I think he's dating someone new and he doesn't want anyone to know."

"Really?" Haley sighed. "I feel like I hardly see him, like he's avoiding me."

"He's in college now," Lucas hoisted two boxes up into his arms, "we aren't the center of his world any more."

"I'm not asking to be the center of his world," Haley glared at Lucas, "I'm not quite that egotistical, thank you."

Lucas laughed at her as he walked out the door and put the boxes down in the truck he'd borrowed from Keith.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I hate you." Haley glared at him and then broke out into a smile. "It's no wonder I'm missing Nathan when I'm hanging out with you all the time."

"My heart weeps for you. Have you and Mark set a date yet?"

"We're thinking about a December wedding."

Lucas did the math. "That gives you less than nine months to plan everything. Are you sure that's enough time with school and everything you guys have going on?"

"I think so. Being engaged is fun, the last couple months have been a blast, but I think that a year is long enough."

"I'm happy for you, Hales. I gotta admit, I think I was more surprised than Nathan was."

"Surprised that anyone would want to marry me?" Haley teased.

"Surprised that you said yes."

"Really?"

"You've been with some guys that seemed like they wanted to get more serious, but you always break up with them before they can."

"I guess I was just waiting for the right one."

"Well, Mark's a good guy."

"Was Nathan really surprised?"

"You should have seen the look on his face, it was like you hit him with a two by four. I had the same look on mine. I guess we're both a little pissed that Mark's going to be the number-one guy in your life now."

"Aw, Luke. You know that you're my life-partner. You both are."

"Life-partner?" Lucas grinned. "Don't let Mark hear you say that, he might get the wrong idea."

Haley looked at him closely. "You know, you're not a bad-looking guy, Luke."

"Stop," Lucas said dryly. "You're embarrassing me."

"I wonder why I've never been even slightly attracted to you."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "It's a mystery. Right up there with Loch Ness and Bigfoot."

Haley laughed. "At least Brooke wants you, even though only God knows why."

Lucas slid into the driver's seat and Haley hopped in beside him. "Speaking of . . ."

He pulled a small velvet box out of his jacket pocket and Haley's eyes went wide. "Shut up! You didn't!"

Lucas' smile was a foot wide. "Take a look."

Haley popped open the cover and saw a white gold and diamond ring. The light from the setting sun flashed off it.

"Wow," she breathed. "It's beautiful." Haley held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger. "I thought my ring was the best in the world but you definitely found one that gives it a run for it's money."

"Thanks." Lucas smiled proudly.

"Brooke is going to be over the moon, I wish I could see the look on her face when she gets this on her finger."

"You will."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have something special planned and I'd like everybody to be there."

"Everybody? What—"

"Don't ask, I'm not telling."

"Lucas Eugene Scott, I am your best friend in the entire freakin' world."

"It's a surprise."

"It's supposed to be a surprise for _Brooke_ blondie."

Lucas just shook his head and Haley gave up and pulled him into a hug. "I can't believe how excited I am about this! This is going to be so great!"

* * *

Nathan was tugging on his tie, trying to loosen it a little. Lucas had tied it for him and it was practically choking him. He stood on the beach by the house that used to be his father's property before his father had finally moved to Florida for good. His mother had bought Dan out.

His brother had insisted on getting them all together for a party for some mysterious reason. He'd said something about celebrating Haley's engagement—but Mark hadn't even been able to make it down because he had to fly out to New York to take care of some business for his father.

He was frustrated with himself for knowing that much about what Haley's fiancé was doing, he'd been trying to keep his distance from Haley and she was so busy with school, Mark, and wedding planning that it hadn't been hard. And dealing with his course load and practice was like having two full-time jobs, so it wasn't that difficult to make himself scarce. But it was still tough for him. It was hard not being able to call her up and talk about what a jerk his new professor was or to hear her laugh when he talked about his latest attempt to cook something edible.

His mom had been partly right, distancing himself had made it easier to forget about Mark, but Haley was never far from his thoughts.

Nathan looked at the set up Lucas had managed to pull together. It was incredible. Two round tables with snow-white cloths draped over them were set up on the porch. Flickering candles cast light on the beautiful china and crystal glasses. The sound of waves crashed in the background and the wind was just brisk enough to keep everyone cool but not so hard that they couldn't eat outside. Everything was perfect.

"Hey, Heartbreaker."

Nathan took a deep breath. "Haley."

"Don't think that you're going to get away without telling me absolutely everything that you've been doing. I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever."

"Really?" Nathan tried to be nonchalant and failed miserably. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

"Really."

Keith, Deb, Karen, Brooke and Lucas walked out and Haley smiled at him before taking a seat.

"It's been a while since we've been this formal," Karen smiled around the table. "We should do this more often."

Nathan groaned. "Please don't say that Aunt Karen. I hate wearing suits."

"But you look so handsome in them, honey," Deb said.

"Very GQ," Haley agreed.

"Dinner was great Karen, thanks," Brooke said.

"Oh, I didn't do the cooking this time."

"What? Are you telling me it was Deb?" Brooke turned to stare at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, people. That joke is getting really old. Maybe we can retire it," Deb huffed.

"It's never going to be too old, Mom," Nathan teased.

"It was actually Lucas," Karen broke in.

"I had no idea you were that talented Luke." Haley raised an eyebrow.

"He's not," Keith said. "He didn't make one move in that kitchen before making Karen tell him what to do."

"Technically, Mom didn't lift a finger, so I can take most of the credit." Lucas stood up. "But I made the dessert on my own, I'll go get it."

Brooke looked out over the water. She seemed happy. Nathan felt a little envious. Why shouldn't she be? She was actually with the person she wanted, he thought sourly.

Lucas came back with a covered tray. "Brooke, would you mind cutting the cake?"

"Sure. What kind is it?"

"Devil's Food."

"Ooh, my favorite."

Brooke took the cover off the cake, cut a piece, and handed to Haley. She gave her a nervous smile as Brooke cut another piece and handed it to Nathan. Lucas was sweating now. Brooke turned back to the cake for the third time and froze. She finally saw the ring nestled in the frosting. She turned to Lucas in shock and saw that he'd gotten down on one knee.

"Brooke Penelope Davis—" Luke started.

"Oh my God!"

"You are the wildest, kindest, most loving person I've ever met—"

"Yes!" Brooke launched herself into his arms and kissed him while everyone laughed. She let Lucas come up for air long enough to glare at them all. "Did you know about this? You all knew!" Her tone was annoyed. "You knew and you didn't tell me? Haley?"

"Sorry," she shrugged, "he had some crazy idea about wanting it to be a surprise."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better _I_ had no idea," Nathan said.

"It doesn't." Brooke caught Lucas up in a lip-lock again while he laughed and wrapped his arms around her. He picked her up while everyone else clapped.

Haley stood up. "And I think this is our cue to leave."

Brooke and Lucas didn't even notice as they all walked out. As they made their way to their vehicles Haley said her goodbyes. She turned around and saw Nathan walking towards his car.

"Hey, wait up!" she called. Nathan turned around and his smile was friendly enough but she felt something—that he was anxious to leave. "You promised me that you'd tell me all the latest news."

"I just remembered, I have a ton of homework. Can we talk later? I've got to get going."

"Is everything okay? You're not taking on too much, are you?" Haley smiled but her heart didn't seem like it was in it. "I barely see you around anymore."

"It's been a little crazy, but I like it that way. It's the college life, you know how it is."

"Sure." Haley looked up into Nathan's eyes. She got the impression that he was tense but nothing in his face or voice betrayed that. Her voice became a little more serious when she asked, "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"It's just that . . . your mom told me—"

"Haley." Nathan cut her off. "Tell my mom I'm fine, okay? She doesn't need to send you to check up on me."

"I'm not." Haley looked at him strangely. "I'm just thinking you'd like to—"

"Haley . . . I'm sorry. The truth is that I'm loving Duke, and when I'm not at practice or in class, I'm at some party." Nathan grinned. "I really didn't feel like talking to my mom about how much I've had to drink or who I'm with. I'm just having fun."

Haley backed away and smiled softly. What had she been thinking? Nathan was young and on his own for the first time. He wanted to go out, not hang out with her and eat junk food. It was just like her to read more into it and jump to conclusions.

"I get it. But, uh, don't be stranger."

Nathan waved as Haley got into her car and drove off. When she was out of sight he got into his Honda, drove straight to the gym, and punched a heavy bag until his fists were sore.

Afterwards he sat on a bench in the changing room, leaning back against the cold metal of the lockers with his eyes closed.

There were times when he could read Haley, too. She was thinking that he'd outgrown her, that he was leaving her behind. Nathan banged his head against the lockers. She'd looked a little hurt. When he'd seen that it had taken everything he had to stop himself from taking her in his arms but Haley's engagement ring kept reflecting the fading light, reminding him that she belonged to someone else. Permanently. But she was still his friend, one of his best friends, and staying away from her was so damn hard.

He had to do it, but he'd been having strange thoughts. Insane thoughts about getting Haley alone so that he could talk to her and just let everything he was feeling spill out.

How would she react? Would she break her engagement? Nathan laughed at himself contemptuously. She was happy. Even he could see that. But he wanted her so badly that nothing helped.

Nathan showered, dressed, and finally walked out into the night. He stood at the entrance of the gym for a moment, breathing in the air and trying to push the image of Haley out of his head but he kept seeing her, sitting there at the table with the candlelight flickering over her face.

"Hey," someone said.

He turned around and saw a girl with brown hair and pretty brown eyes looking at him. She was tall, coming up to under his chin, and she had a friendly smile.

"Hi," he answered.

"Nathan?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Not really, I think we have Intro Chem together? There are like two hundred people in that class, so I might be wrong."

"No, I have that class too."

"What are you doing here so late at night?"

"Ah, I just thought I'd get in a workout, I skipped this morning."

"Me too." She smiled. "I have no discipline at all. I was supposed to be here at seven this morning. I'm only fifteen hours late."

He laughed. "That's not so bad."

"I'm Katie Perchel." She held out her hand.

He shook it and smiled. "Nathan Scott."

* * *

"I've been thinking about what we're going to do after I graduate," Mark said.

"Yeah?" Haley cut up her steak and took a bite. It was delicious. Mark had put together an incredible evening for them. After she'd moved all her things in to their the new apartment that they'd be sharing until Mark graduated she thought they'd be arranging their things but Mark had insisted that they spend their first night officially living together out on a date.

They'd just wandered around the town together, walking and talking. They'd ended up at this restaurant, gotten everything to go, and they ate, picnic-style, on their floor.

"Do you remember what my dad told us when we went to visit my parents?" Mark asked.

"About him opening up an accounting firm in New York?"

"Yes. How would you feel about moving there?"

Haley looked a little surprised. "I'm not sure. I mean, it would probably be a great opportunity. I've always wanted to visit but I never thought about living there."

"We wouldn't have to go, I can do a lot of work from home and I'd just have to fly up there maybe once a month, but the city is amazing." Mark smiled. "It would be really exciting starting our lives together there."

Haley grinned. "You sound like a brochure."

"That's the pitch my dad gave me. You'll think about it Haley?"

She nodded. "Definitely."

"My mom's been telling me to let you know that you should come to her if you need help with the wedding."

"Ah, I don't think so, but I'll ask her anyway. Kind of as a mother-in-law and future daughter-in-law bonding thing."

"She keeps saying how New York is the best shopping city in the world, she's going to love looking for . . . whatever it is people look for to prep for a wedding."

"Whatever it is?" Haley smiled. "You are so uniformed."

"I just know my limits."

"I still want to get married in Tree Hill."

"What?"

"Remember when we talked about me staying in Durham until you graduated? I said that I wanted to go back home for the wedding."

"Right."

"What is it?"

"It's just that my family has a lot of people coming and it might be easier to accommodate them all in a bigger city."

"There are plenty of places to put people up in Tree Hill, it's a small town but we've got plenty of nice hotels. In one of them we even have hot running water instead of a well." Haley teased.

Mark smiled. "If you really want Tree Hill, Tree Hill it is."

"I've been thinking about our honeymoon—"

"Nope, that's one part of our wedding that I'm going to handle."

"What? But—"

"No, no, Miss James. Everything else is yours, but this is mine."

"Okay." Haley glared at him playfully. "If you weren't so damn handsome I'd be mad that you didn't tell me this earlier."

Mark pushed back his plate and got up on his knees. He crawled towards Haley and pushed her back so that she was laid out on the floor.

"You think I'm handsome?" Mark said softly.

"Sometimes."

"Yeah?" Mark unbuttoned her shirt and kissed Haley softly.

"Yeah," Haley breathed.

Her hands busied themselves lower down and Mark stood up and let her push his pants down around his ankles. He covered her again and Haley closed her eyes as he pulled her closer.

* * *

Nathan sat at one of the outdoor tables, sipping his latte. The campus coffee shop was pretty busy with students rushing to and from class but he had a free period and he tried to relax and enjoy the day but he couldn't.

"Hi."

Nathan turned around in his seat and then stood up to give the woman behind him a hug.

"Hi, Katie."

"Been waiting long?"

"No. Can I buy you something?"

"Hot cocoa, please."

"Sure. Anything else?"

"No, I'm good."

Nathan walked back outside with a cup, and then he and Katie walked down the sidewalk together.

She talked about the classes she was taking and what she wanted to do after she graduated and Nathan tried hard to pay attention. It wasn't because of Katie, she was nice, interesting, and fun to be with. But she was the first girl that he'd gone out with since before Haley had gotten engaged. He felt like he was cheating on her and even he recognized how crazy that feeling was. Cheating, on someone who didn't even know he existed. Nathan shook off that unfair thought. She cared about him, he knew that, but it wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough anymore.

"Are you interested?" Katie asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Nathan tried to remember what she'd been saying.

"I was just wondering what you're planning on doing later tonight. There's this party at the Phi Beta Kappa sorority later. It's supposed to be great."

"Ah, sure. I'd like to go."

Katie stopped and looked at him for a minute.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that I expected you to be different."

"Different how?"

"I don't know, more egotistical. All my girlfriends warned me that you'd probably spend every minute we have together talking about you and you've let me babble on about myself for the last hour."

"Well, you're a lot more interesting than I am."

"Yeah, right."

"No, really. You want to know what my day is like? Wake up, practice, class, practice, class, game, homework, sleep. Then I get up and do it all over again the next day."

"That doesn't sound very glamorous."

"I guess I could have more fun, but I'm serious about wanting to have a basketball career after college."

"What about dating?"

"I do it on occasion." Nathan smiled.

"Oh? What about kissing?"

"I do that on occasion, too."

Katie moved closer. "Why don't you give it a try now?"

Nathan bent down and kissed her, and it was nice. He wasn't thinking about anything or anyone else, and when he drew away Katie smiled at him, grabbed his hand, and they walked on.

* * *

"We're going to be married within a year of each other, can you believe it?" Brooke asked. She driven up to visit Haley and give her a blender in honor of her new living arrangement.

"I really can't." Haley smiled. "Speaking of your wedding, are you sure that you guys don't want to push the date back so you'll have more time to plan?"

"We don't need to, I just want something small and simple."

Haley's jaw dropped open. "Brooke Davis wants something small and simple?"

"I don't always have to be the queen," Brooke said defensively, "sometimes I like things low-key."

"Are you sure? I could help."

"What? And spend the first year of your marriage planning someone else's wedding? I would never let you do that. You've got to focus on yourself."

"I guess you're right." Haley fiddled with a pen. "Sometimes I feel like I'm still eighteen, I can't believe that we're actually moving into the next stage of our lives."

Brooke looked at her askance. "Don't make it sound so depressing. You're talking like we're moving into a nursing home."

Haley laughed.

"But still, you're going to be . . . what . . . twenty-seven when you and Mark finally walk down the aisle? Don't you think that's a little young?"

"You're the same age as me, Brooke."

"I know, that's why I'm asking. Are we too young for this?"

"Plenty of people get married around our age. I guess it depends on whether or not you think you're ready."

"I think I am."

"So do I."

"Lucas told me that Nathan's teammate—one of the guys Nathan started college with!—is getting married." Brooke snorted. "At twenty years old. Can you believe it? Can you imagine Nathan popping the question?" Brooke's voice lowered comically. "'Hey, baby, do you want to wash my sweaty jerseys for the rest of your life?'"

Haley laughed hard. "I really can't imagine that, no."

"They are definitely too young. But you know what? I can't wait for us to do couple-y things together," Brooke said excitedly.

"Like what?" Haley asked.

"Dinner parties, double dates—"

"Swinging?"

"Haley James!" Brooke grinned. "I've taught you too well."

"I know. Sometimes I worry about that."

"So how are things with the in-laws?"

"Okay."

"Just okay?"

"It's no big deal, it's just that Mark's mom really wants us to have our wedding in New York."

"Unless she wants to marry her son herself this December, she's just going to have to get over it."

"Ew. But she's not mean about it or anything, it's just that she and her husband got married in New York at city hall and I guess she had this dream about having a high-society wedding there now that she and her husband have made their fortune."

Brooke shook her head. "New money."

"Brooke."

"I don't mean it in an insulting way, my parents are new money too. Or they were before my father's company went belly-up. Mark's parents want to show off, that's all."

"I want to show off a little, too."

"You're the bride. That's your job."

"Maybe we can have a really large engagement party in New York and the wedding here."

"That sounds like a good compromise. But what does it matter? Doesn't Mark have an older brother that's not married yet? Why doesn't she wait until he gets married to really go all out?"

"Mark says that they've given up on Parker settling down."

"What's wrong with him?"

Haley laughed. "There's nothing wrong with him, he just doesn't really want to be married."

"Then there must be something wrong with him."

"Some people do enjoy being single."

"That's a lie." Brooke grinned. "Everyone loves being in love."

"Maybe he did, but I heard something about a girl who really burned him, so he's given up on marriage."

"Ooh, any details?"

"No, Gossip McGossipson."

"Shame. Listen . . . are you sure about this Haley?"

"What?"

"Marrying Mark." Brooke looked at her seriously.

"Why do you ask?"

"How long have you known him?"

"Let me see . . . it was before Nathan started college, I think, and he's just graduated now so . . . a little less than nine months."

"So by the time you get married you'll have been together maybe a year and a half?"

"Around there. Are you thinking that it's too soon?."

Brooke shrugged. "It's just that I feel like I pushed you into this. I practically set you guys up."

"You didn't push me. We just . . . clicked. You know? You knew with Lucas early on, right?"

Brooke grinned. "Hell, yes."

"So stop worrying so much."

"I never used to. You must be rubbing off on me."

Haley's forehead creased as she thought back. "Have you seen Nathan lately?"

"Yeah, he comes by sometimes and he and Luke shoot hoops in the driveway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just saw him last week. Why?"

"I've been thinking about making him a groomsman if he can get away from playing or practice long enough."

"He'll be there," Brooke said confidently.

"He's been so busy being a college superstar that I haven't seen him since you and Luke got engaged."

"It's been three months." Brooke looked surprised.

"I know," Haley sighed. "Anyway. I've got to get going."

"Do you have to go now?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting Mark and his parents for dinner."

"Good luck with that," Brooke said with her eyebrows raised.

"What? They're perfectly nice people."

"They're in-laws, Haley. I'm sure that they're full of sweetness and light but eventually they're going to start getting on your nerves."

"It hasn't happened with you yet." Haley smiled sweetly and batted her eyes.

"Hate you." Brooke smiled back at her fondly.

* * *

Lucas answered the knock at his door and saw Nathan standing there with a smirk on his face and a basketball in his hands.

"What do you want, little brother?"

"I want a rematch."

"You lost." Lucas walked back into his house. "Deal with it."

"Never," Nathan said as he followed his brother inside.

Lucas and Brooke had moved in together after they'd gotten engaged and their first home was a little small, but perfect for them. Nathan looked around, who knew that Brooke would turn out to be such a neat freak? Maybe it was because of all the time she was spending with Haley.

"It's too bad that you weren't here this afternoon, Haley stopped by."

"Really?" Nathan tried to look unconcerned. "How is she?"

"Fine. Busy with the wedding and everything else. She told Brooke that she's wants us to be groomsmen."

"We don't even really know Mark."

"Sure we know him."

"Not really. A couple polite conversations doesn't mean anything."

"Maybe we should invite him over then, play a friendly game?

"I wish I could." Nathan rolled his eyes behind his brother's back. "But I'm pretty busy."

"Of course you are." Brooke walked in through the kitchen door. "You should give Haley a call so that she knows you're still alive."

"I will."

"You keep saying that, and then you don't."

"Can you get off my back?" Nathan said, annoyed.

"Time out," Lucas said mildly. "How was your day, hon?"

"Chaos. As the most successful travel agent in Tree Hill," Brooke said proudly, "I'm in high demand."

Nathan looked amused. "Really?"

"Never doubt me."

After graduating with a degree in history, Brooke had surprised everyone when she'd used what was left of the money she'd gotten from her parents to buy a small storefront and open up her own travel agency: Vistas. She'd been planning trips out of her apartment for nearly two years after leaving college and she'd finally decided to turn her side project into a real business. People had thought she was crazy but her small company was becoming more and more successful, Brooke had recently hired another agent and a secretary.

Nathan liked his future sister-in-law, he really did, but they just seemed to rub each other the wrong way. Their relationship had always been testy but it had gotten a little worse lately. When Nathan was really being honest with himself, he knew that it was because he felt that Haley wouldn't have started seeing Mark if Brooke hadn't pushed them together. He knew that it was stupid, but when it came to Haley it was hard to be rational.

"I hear great things about Vistas all the time," Nathan said.

Brooke smiled. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"That depends, are you cooking?"

"No." Brooke looked like she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue.

"Okay, then."

"Brooke's a great cook," Lucas defended.

"Which is a miracle since I never set foot in a kitchen until I left for college." Brooke crossed her arms defensively.

"It's not that, it's just that I'm afraid that she's going to slip poison into my food one of these days." Nathan laughed.

"Don't tempt me," Brooke said.

* * *

Nathan stood inside the Duke gymnasium, dribbling the ball. He didn't take any shots, he just concentrated on maintaining a smooth rhythm.

During the dinner they'd had last week Lucas and Brooke—mostly Brooke—had kept pressing him until he'd actually lost his mind and agreed to be in the wedding party. He knew that there was no way to get out of attending but he'd been counting on being able to sit in with the rest of guests, hopefully off to the side where people wouldn't be able to see his face when Haley said "I do" to Mark.

It was the most idiotic, bone-headed decision that he'd ever made and he was already thinking up ways to get out of it. Brooke had given him looks that could kill all night—which he could deal with.

But then her face had softened and she'd said, "Come on, Nathan. I mean, I'm happy for Haley but things aren't going to be the same after she gets married. We'll all be living our own lives, it's going to get harder and harder to hang out, and who knows where we're all going to be in a couple years? We have this opportunity do this thing together." Brooke saw that Nathan was wavering and drove the nail into the coffin. "She really misses you. Do it for her, okay?"

And he'd fallen for it. Completely. "She misses you." Nathan snorted to himself. Right.

Nathan cleared his mind and refocused on basketball. Even though the season had been over for weeks and the next wouldn't be starting for months, he was still in training.

The Devils had come close to winning the championship, very, very close. But it hadn't happened for them again this year.

He was starting to worry. He'd taken on a larger role on the team and after the seniors graduated next year he'd be one of the top players. He had two more years to bring home a victory for Duke and he was starting to fear that it wouldn't happen. If he didn't get into the NBA, this would be the only time he'd be able to experience what it was like to finally reach the end and beat the best.

At the last game of the season almost everyone had been there: his mother, Lucas, Brooke, Keith, and Katie. He'd been seeing her off and on for almost a five months and he'd avoided Haley for that entire time.

Katie had seemed pretty comfortable around his family, he hadn't really planned on having them meet her, but he'd had a little time before the game started and he'd introduced her to everyone before leaving to get ready.

He had no idea what they'd talked about and a part of him didn't really want to know. He hadn't really told anyone that he was seeing someone; they'd been a little surprised but they'd taken it in stride and the evening had gone off well.

Even though they'd been dating for months, he and Katie were still stuck in that stage where neither one of them had made a commitment. That was his fault and he knew it. Katie was starting to become more and more puzzled by his behavior. He knew that sooner or later she'd probably want something less casual but for now she didn't press it and he was grateful for that.

He was a little relieved that Haley hadn't been able to make it, even though he would have liked to see her. Accepting the fact that she was going to marry Mark had become easier as his relationship with Katie went on. It hadn't happened overnight but he really felt like he was slowly getting over his impossible crush. What he had with Katie was good, she was a truly sweet person.

"Son."

Nathan started a little at the sound, he'd been thinking so hard that he hadn't heard Dan coming up behind him. He saw his father and gave him a strange look.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan stood still but he didn't stop dribbling.

"I just came up for a visit." Dan's face was tense. And each _thunk_ of the ball on the floor seemed to fray his temper a little more.

"The season's been over for a while, Dad."

"I don't mean I came up to watch you play, I came to see you."

"Why?"

Dan took a deep breath. "Is it really so strange that I'd just want to drop in?"

"Yes."

"Look, I know that it's been . . . rough for us since your mother and I got divorced."

"Okay." Nathan's face was expressionless.

"But I was thinking that we could grab some dinner."

Nathan caught the ball in both hands and there was no sound in the gym. He looked at his father for a long time, trying to assess his motives. "What is it that you want?"

Dan himself wasn't sure about what he wanted. He'd been divorced from Deb for four years and his relationship with Nathan, which hadn't been easy since the time he was eight, had deteriorated even further. He wasn't exactly sure when and how it had happened, but he'd suddenly realized that outside of the occasional conversation about basketball, he and Nathan didn't speak. At all. He had no idea if he was dating anyone, or how he was doing in school, or what his future plans were.

All he'd ever wanted was to spare Nathan the regret that he suffered from, but somehow it had gotten twisted around and he'd been cast as the villain when he and Deb separated. The truth was, Nathan loved basketball. He loved the game and in order to play it at the level that he wanted, Dan had had to push him.

His mother got to play the martyr and sigh and moan about how demanding he was but the truth is that Nathan had needed that when he was younger, or he would've been playing in some third-string division, going nowhere.

"I just want to have some dinner and for you to sit there and try and make conversation. Is that too much to ask?"

Nathan looked at Dan for a long moment. "Why now?"

"What?"

"Why now? Did something happen? Do you have cancer or something?"

"No," Dan said, annoyed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm in perfect health and I won't be dying anytime soon. Sorry to disappoint you."

"So why do you give a shit about me now? We lost before we could get into the championships, Dad. Maybe you'll want to come back next year."

Dan felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He hadn't understood how much Nathan resented him. Standing there, looking at his son, he realized that Nathan wasn't a child anymore and he wasn't a teenager. He was a young man who didn't seem to want or need him.

"I meant what I said. If you want to see me I'll be at the Library Bar and Grill tonight at six. Meet me there if you want to."

Dan turned and walked away and Nathan watched him go before turning away to practice his shots.

* * *

Nathan walked back to his dorm slowly. Katie was expecting him to call but after running into his father he really didn't feel like talking to anyone. He should call her anyway, they needed to talk about their plans: he'd probably be spending the summer with her. She really was a great girl and even though staying away from Haley had been hard at first, over time it had gotten easier.

For a month after Lucas and Brooke had gotten engaged he'd thought about her every day, even when he was out with Katie, but now he only thought about her now and then when something would remind him of her: a passage in a book, a familiar scent, or the sound of a voice.

Just then he wished, with everything that he had, that he could call and talk to her about his father. Even though he and his brother were closer than ever, Dan was a subject they never even tried to tackle. His mother didn't need to be reminded of the bastard that she used to be married to, and there was no way he'd go to Karen with the problems he was having with the man who'd abandoned her and her son. That left Brooke—yeah right—and Katie.

He knew that Katie would be sympathetic, but Haley would just understand. She'd been there, right there, through everything. Nathan felt a familiar ache rise in his chest but then he shook his shoulders slightly and the feeling subsided.

Maybe he would meet his father for dinner tonight. The thought of seeing him unbalanced him a little. Then maybe he'd go stay with his mom for a couple weeks. He and Katie had talked about taking a road trip, driving to New York and stopping along the way to see all the sights. They could postpone that for a while, though. He felt like he hadn't really seen his family since the beginning of the school year.

* * *

_August 23, 2013_

Nathan walked down the sidewalk in the Tree Hill, window shopping for something to buy for his Katie. She'd been incredibly understanding after he'd told her that he felt like he needed to spend some time at home this summer.

He'd be meeting up with her later in New York for a week, she was going to be driving up there with some of her girlfriends and he wanted to get her something special to give her when he saw her again.

He peered in the window of a jewelry shop but didn't see anything that he liked so he moved on. There was a bridal shop next door and there was a woman inside who was wearing one of the ugliest wedding gowns he'd ever seen. She was turning from side to side, looking at herself in the mirror.

For some reason he stopped and stared at her and she turned around. It was Haley. He stepped back, feeling his heart pound. She was supposed to be in Durham with Mark, planning her wedding. Why was she here? He took a deep breath and laughed at himself. So what if she was here? It wasn't that big a deal. He stepped back, about to walk away since she hadn't seen him, but then he turned back. What was he running away from?

He put one hand on the door handle and walked into the boutique. Haley was trying on a tiara and her long brown hair tumbled down her back.

"So that's the dress that you want?" Nathan asked.

Haley turned around and her eyes widened with surprise.

"Nathan!" She rushed over, a whirlwind of lace and tulle, and hugged him.

He held her closely for a moment, closing his eyes, and then he moved back to look down at what she was wearing.

"It's a little . . ." Nathan searched for something tactful to say.

"Ugly as hell?"

"Yes," Nathan laughed. "Those are the words I was looking for."

"Yeah, I know. But when I saw it on the rack I just couldn't help wondering how I'd look in it, and it's more awful than I thought it would be."

Nathan looked into Haley's glowing face and felt himself die a little more inside. "It really is a horror."

"So what are you doing in a bridal shop, Heartbreaker? There're only a few reasons why a man would walk into a place like this and they all scare me."

"I was just walking by and I saw you in here."

"Are you meeting Lucas?"

"No, I just thought I'd hit the town by myself. I barely spend any time here anymore, you know?"

"I do know," Haley said wistfully. "After my parents sold the house and ran off to have the gypsy life they always wanted, it feels like I'm never here."

"We should come back more," Nathan said, looking out the storefront window. "Being in Tree Hill was the best time of my life."

"Come on, you're a superstar at Duke. You have women falling all over you," Haley teased and Nathan smiled painfully. "You're telling me that you getting your ass kicked by me in Donkey Kong is better than that?"

"Yes."

Haley laughed. "You've always been so sweet. But, hey, don't let me keep you."

"Is Mark here?" Nathan fought the urge to grit his teeth when he said the man's name.

"No, he's driving down next weekend. So I'm on my own until then."

"Why don't you let me treat you to dinner?" What am I doing? Nathan asked himself.

"Dinner?" Haley raised her eyebrows.

"Deep-dish pepperoni with sausage, black olives, onions, and extra cheese, right? Damico's?"

"You remembered!" Haley swooned. "I haven't had good pizza in an eon."

"I'll even let you beat me at Donkey Kong."

"_Let_ me? Oh, it's on now."

"Why don't you meet me there at six?"

"Sure. I'll see you later."

* * *

"Ahh. I'm never going to fit into my wedding dress now." Haley sat back and patted her stomach.

"Well, thanks for leaving a couple slices for me," Nathan said.

"Hey, I was just kidding when I threatened to stab your hand with a fork. You could have taken another piece."

"That's okay, I think I'll just take one to go."

Haley sipped her root beer. "So how's school?"

"It's getting better."

"It wasn't going good before? Were you having some problems?"

"I'm sure my Mom told you all about it when she called you."

"Busted," Haley sighed.

"Don't worry about me, Haley. I'm fine."

"Really?" Haley looked at him and the worry in her face made his heart race a little.

"Really. I just got off track for a while but I worked it out with the coach. I'll be kissing his ass for the next year, but it should be fine."

"I'm glad. I worry about you all the time. I remember how much you loved the game when you were younger, I'd hate to see anything get in the way of that. Lucas can't shut up about how proud he is of you."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. He said that college ball was enough for him but sometimes I think he wonders what it would have been like to play professionally. I hear that you're headed that way."

Nathan shrugged. "Maybe. I know that I'm talented, but there are hundreds of talented guys out there. There are no guarantees."

"Have you thought about what you'd want to do if you don't get into the NBA, or maybe what you want to do after you're done playing?"

"I . . . I'd really love to coach."

"That is so great, Nathan."

"You think so?"

"Of course. Plus you learned how to do it from the best, I know how much you love Whitey."

"He is the best."

"I always felt like he really stepped up when your parents got divorced. I was so glad you had someone like him in your life."

Nathan blinked, surprised. "That's exactly how I felt. I had no idea you noticed that, too."

"It's all I thought about for a while. You took the divorce hard, Nathan. Really hard. I worried about you a lot."

Nathan reached over to hold Haley's hand. "That means a lot to me."

"Are you kidding? You and Deb are like family to me."

Nathan took his hand back. "Thanks."

"You want to walk some of this pizza off?"

"Yeah, I'm still in training and unlike some people I can't afford to let myself go."

"Shut up. If Mark can't appreciate a meaty woman, the hell with him."

"Amen." Nathan grinned.

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked in comfortable silence down the riverfront. They stopped when they came up to the hotel.

"Well, this is home," Haley said.

"Do you want to do something tomorrow? I could probably help you pick out a wedding dress that doesn't make you look like a tower of marshmallows."

"I've decided to give up on the dress for now. But I'm going to be doing wedding planning stuff all week, I'm sure that you don't want to hang out when I'm doing that."

"No, it'll be great. You can do whatever you need to do, and I'll just sit back and laugh at your horrible taste."

She pretended to laugh. "Oh, Nathan, you're hilarious. But if you want to torture yourself, be my guest."

Haley hugged him and Nathan let his eyes close briefly as she held him. "It's been great getting to hang out with you again. It feels like old times."

Nathan smiled. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Nathan, where have you been all day? I thought that you were going to wash the car?" Deb asked.

"Sorry, Mom. I ran into Haley and we got to talking."

"Oh, that's right, Haley's in town. I still can't believe that she's actually getting married."

"Neither can I."

"Karen told me that she and Mark are working hard with everything they need to do for the wedding. I just hope that Haley hasn't stretched herself too thin, she's taking classes in the fall and finishing things up for the big day."

"Hmm."

"She'd better get started now if she wants to get everything done in time."

"She was shopping for a wedding dress when I saw her."

"Oh, was it beautiful?"

"No," Nathan laughed. "I thought I might help her out a little this week, keep her company, starting tomorrow."

"Great idea, Nathan. What time tomorrow?"

"One."

"This is so perfect, I've always wanted to help plan a wedding!"

"Yeah. Wait . . . what?"

"When we meet with her tomorrow I can tell her all about the great ideas that I've got."

Nathan's mind raced, how had this conversation turned bad so quickly? "Oh, Mom, I'm sure Haley doesn't expect you to drop everything to help her out."

"Don't be silly, Nathan. Haley's like a part of the family. Why, when you were younger you used to adore her."

"Yes, but . . ."

"Hold on . . ." Deb looked at her son closely. "When you ran into Haley . . ." Nathan felt his heart drop into his shoes. She knew. "You just happened to be at a bridal shop?"

"Y-yes."

"What were you doing in there?"

"I, uh—"

"Nathan . . . you weren't trying on any of the gowns, were you?"

"Mom, for the love of God! You think I'm a cross-dresser?! I told you, I happened to see Haley trying on a dress and I walked in to say hi!"

"Right, right. Of course, Nate." Deb walked away quickly.

* * *

"Deb, that's a beautiful idea," Haley said excitedly.

Nathan sighed to himself. His mother and Haley had been going over the wedding plans like a couple little girls, squealing and cooing at everything in the catalogs his mother had brought. Haley hadn't even blinked at seeing Deb with him and he felt totally superfluous.

He let his mind wander a bit and looked towards them when he heard his mother say his name.

"What's that?"

"I was just saying that it's too bad that you aren't a little boy anymore, you'd make the cutest ring-bearer."

"Mom, please."

"You are so right, Deb." Haley grinned. "I remember the first time I was hit by those eyes." She pretended to swoon. "Can you imagine Nathan in a little tux holding a little blue silk pillow?"

"Right. Look, I've got to run." Nathan stood up.

Haley looked up with surprise. "Bored already?"

"Yeah, I guess I overestimated my tolerance for wedding stuff."

Nathan's voice was normal but Haley felt the change in his attitude. He was all closed off again, she looked over at Deb to see if she noticed but she was still flipping through Modern Bride.

"I release you, then. Run free." Haley cocked her head to the side. "You want to meet me later? I'm going to be at Damico's around seven."

Nathan brightened. "Again?"

"What? I like the pizza. Don't judge."

Nathan laughed. "I wouldn't dare. Sure, I'll see you."

After Nathan was out of sight Haley turned to Deb. "Are you still worried about him?"

She sighed. "He seems to be turning things around, his grades are better and he's not out partying all night the way he used to. He's back on the team."

"But?"

"I don't know. It's like the spark went out of him. Like he's just going through the motions."

"Is it that bad?"

"No, I think I'm just imagining things. Now that Dan has reappeared in his life he seems so serious all the time."

"Do you think that maybe he's not ready for his father to be back?"

"I don't know. His father's an ass but I always thought that he loved Nathan in his own way."

"He's going to be fine, Deb. I've always been so impressed by him. He's always known who he is and what he wants. Unlike me, who's changed majors eight, count 'em, eight times before settling on one."

"Thank you, Haley. Maybe I'm just overreacting."

"Hey, you're a mom. You're allowed to do that once in a while."

"This girl he liked dumping him didn't help any."

"What? What girl? The one you met at the championship game?"

"No, the girl he was seeing before her. Oh, I can't talk about it." Deb paused. "Her name was Rachel, and that's all I'm going to say."

Haley shook her head. "Another Shelly?"

"Maybe. He says—" Deb cut herself off. "I promised I wouldn't say anything to anyone about it."

"I understand."

"She's in love with someone else and I think he's still taking it hard."

"That sucks, I'll try to talk to him."

"Haley . . ."

"Don't worry, I won't let him know that I dragged the information out of you."

"Thanks."

* * *

After dinner Nathan and Haley walked to the video store.

"How did the planning with my mom go?"

"Great, she's been incredible, I think that between her and my mom I might actually pull this off."

Nathan opened the door for her and she walked in.

"Hmm. I think I want to watch _A Walk To Remember_."

"What? Come on, Haley. That sappy crap?"

"Don't you dare call it sappy crap. This movie changed my life."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I am not! This is the movie that introduced me to the concept of true love."

"You're scaring me now, Haley James."

* * *

They didn't spend that much time inside the store, Haley found what she wanted quickly, grabbed some boxes of candy, and paid for their videos. They walked back to the hotel, laughing and joking.

"Hey, I hate to watch movies alone, you want to come up? I've got microwave popcorn," Haley offered.

"Sure," Nathan said easily.

Haley slipped the card into the door and walked into the room, tossing her purse on the table.

Nathan whistled. "Nice room. Swanky."

"Isn't it great? Mark insisted on me getting a suite."

"Where is he?"

"He's still in meetings with his father."

Haley switched on the television and put in the DVD, he sat down on the couch and made himself comfortable while she disappeared into her bedroom. He looked through the special features and when Haley came out again he took one look at her and burst out laughing.

Haley glared at him and put her hands on her hips. She was wearing pajamas that were ordinary enough—except for the huge picture of Rainbow Brite that covered her entire chest.

"Don't you dare laugh at me."

"Sorry," Nathan gasped. "If only I'd known, I could have brought my blankets with the Thundercats on them."

Haley grinned. "You owe your appreciation for 80s cartoons to me, Heartbreaker. Do you really want a good laugh? I can talk to you about the summer you ran around pretending to be Optimus Prime."

Nathan sobered up. "There's no need to get personal, Haley."

"That's what I thought."

* * *

They were watching the credits scroll down the screen and Haley was wiping at her tears with a tissue.

Nathan rolled his eyes, smiled at her, and then his face became serious.

"Haley?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know that Mark is the one?" Nathan held his breath.

"Well . . . we dated for a while before he proposed. I knew that he was the best boyfriend that I'd ever had but I wasn't sure if I wanted to be with him forever. But as time went on I could see us being together, buying a house, having kids"—Nathan looked down at that—"all the normal stuff couples do. So when he finally asked me I just felt so incredibly happy. I knew I made the right choice."

"I thought you were a romantic."

"That _is_ romantic."

"No, I mean, like something out of the movie"—Nathan gestured at the tv screen—"some guy comes along to sweep you off your feet."

"I'm hoping that I live a little longer than three months after the wedding."

"You know what I mean."

"It's just a movie, Nathan. They always end after the couple gets married. They never show you how to make it work."

"I guess you're right," Nathan said softly.

"You talk like someone who just got his heart broken."

"Do I?"

"A little."

"Not broken, cracked a little, maybe."

Haley smiled gently. "I had no idea you were so poetic."

"You haven't even heard my best stuff."

"Does she have a name?"

"Who?"

"The girl who stomped on your heart, of course."

"No . . ."

"She has no name?"

"No," Nathan laughed a little, "I mean she didn't really 'stomp' anything. She just . . . wasn't feeling it, I guess."

"Oh, that's the worst. You don't even have the comfort of being able to hate her."

"Would that really help?"

"It's gotten me through a bunch of bad breakups."

"Come on, how many guys have broken up with you? One, maybe?"

"Try eight."

"You're kidding."

"I wish."

"They're all idiots."

"That's what I think too." Haley grabbed a handful of popcorn. "I don't know, I think that my parents being so in love all this time has totally screwed up my perception of how relationships are supposed to be. Maybe if they'd divorced I'd have had more realistic expectations when I started dating."

"Yeah, being the child of divorce was a real treat."

"God, Nathan. How could I be so insensitive? I'm sorry . . ."

"No, I'm sorry. I know you were kidding, it's just that . . . everything changed when my dad left. He was . . . worse."

Haley sighed. "How is it with him around so much lately?"

Nathan shrugged. "I don't even know what to talk to him about now. All our conversations are about how many points I'm getting per game and my workout schedule."

Haley laid a palm on the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

Nathan smiled and struggled to keep his breathing even. Her hand was soft; when she drew her hand away her fingers brushed lightly through his hair and he felt a shiver run through his entire body.

"I never thanked you, Haley."

"For what?"

"When my parents got divorced it would have been ten times worse if you hadn't been there. I know that you reamed my dad out a couple times for me."

Haley blinked with surprise. "Who told you?"

"Lucas."

"I'm going to kill him," Haley muttered.

"I don't understand why you didn't want me to know."

Haley sighed. "When your parents got separated I could see that it was really bad for you. You were in so much pain and there was nothing I could do and your father . . . I was just so pissed off at him for handling it the way he did. One day I just kind of lost it on him but I was so afraid that I'd made things worse. I just kept thinking about that time I lost my temper with him in front of you . . ."

"My dad was a grown man, Haley. He's responsible for what he did or didn't do."

"My head knows that. But sometimes I wish I could have done more, you know?"

Nathan shook his head. "You helped. You have no idea how much. I . . . love you."

Nathan ran his fingers through the carpet. He couldn't even look at Haley for a moment. When he could finally raise his head he saw that she had tears in her eyes.

She sat up on the couch and reached for him so she could hug him tightly. Nathan closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her, and turned his face slightly so that her hair covered a part of his face.

Haley broke their embrace and he forced himself to give her a carefree smile.

"Don't think that this means I'm going to let you win when we play Tekken," Nathan teased.

Haley laughed and their serious mood dissipated. Her cell phone rang and she got up to answer it.

"Mark! Hey."

Haley walked into her bedroom to take the call and Nathan slumped dispiritedly onto the couch. He could hear the buzz of her voice through the door and he let his head flop against the back of the sofa. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend that he was the one engaged to Haley and that they were here to plan their wedding together. That it was their ceremony that his mother was going crazy over.

When Haley walked back out she saw Nathan laid out on the couch, sleeping. She smiled softly and walked over and tried to straighten him out a little, pulled off his shoes, and threw one of her blankets over him.

The next morning when Nathan woke up he heard Haley's voice and smiled unconsciously. Then he heard a deeper one, a man's voice, and he sat up quickly. Peering over the back of the couch he saw Haley standing in the living room kissing someone.

"You're finally awake." Haley looked over at him.

The man turned around and with a friendly smile he said, "Nathan." He walked over to the sofa and held out his hand, "It's nice to see you again, I'm hoping we get a chance to get to know each other a little better. Haley talks about you all the time."

Nathan looked at Mark through bleary eyes. "Hey." He took a moment to rub a rough hand over his face. "Nice to see you too." Nathan gave him a firm handshake.

"We're about to go down and grab some breakfast, do you want to come? You and Mark can chat and compare stories on how wonderful I am," Haley said.

Mark glanced over his shoulder. "So conceited."

"Uh, thanks but I know Mom's got a million things for me to do so I'd better get home." Nathan's smile was bright and fake.

"Okay." Haley grabbed her purse.

"Maybe we can meet up later, Nathan. I love college ball, maybe we could come to a game." Mark was so friendly that Nathan almost felt bad for hating him. Almost.

"You think you could score us some free tickets?" Haley asked.

"Don't tell me that you're too cheap to buy tickets to a college basketball game Haley." Nathan shook his head with profound disappointment.

"What can I say? Old habits die hard."

Mark grabbed Haley's hand and Nathan squeezed his fists between his knees to stop himself from launching himself at Mark and wrapping his hands around the guy's throat.

"We'll see you later, okay? Feel free to use the shower or whatever. I think I brought some of Lucas' old sweats if you want to change," Haley said.

"Sure, thanks," Nathan answered.

When the door shut behind them Nathan waited until he was certain that they were gone and drove his fist into the wooden armoire.

* * *

Nathan's emotions were all jumbled up inside him. Over the past couple days Mark had been attached to Haley at the hip. It was clear that his feelings for Haley weren't really under control, and he felt like maybe he should talk about it with her.

There had been moments when he'd felt like he was able to deal with it, but when he'd seen Mark all of the animosity that he felt towards him came rushing back. His hand still hurt, but that probably served him right. What kind of idiot punches something made out of solid oak?

He saw Haley coming out of her hotel and jogged to catch up with her.

"Haley."

"Nathan." She looked surprised. "Were we supposed to meet up today?"

"No, I just . . . I wanted to ask you something."

Nathan took both her hands into his and she looked up at him curiously. When she saw the look in his eyes she became concerned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I've been . . ." Nathan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I've really missed you, I think that I've seen more of you this week than I have over the past year."

"I've missed you, too." Haley smiled. "Promise me that we won't let ourselves go that long again without hanging out."

"I promise," Nathan said.

"I'm on my way to taste different wedding cakes, do you want to come with me? Free food for you."

"No, I've got to get back home. There's just something that I wanted to tell you."

"What, Nathan?" Haley said softly. Suddenly she felt anxious and she didn't know why. She moved back a little, for some reason she didn't want to hear whatever it was Nathan had to say.

"I just . . . hope that you don't forget about me and Lucas after you get married."

Haley released a breath that she didn't know that she'd been holding. "Are you kidding? No worries, Heartbreaker, nobody could take the place you two have in my life."

Nathan smiled painfully as Haley waved and got into her car.

* * *

Hours later Haley drove home with a few cake samples for Mark. On impulse she decided to drive by her old house. She saw something that made her jerk a little with surprise and she parked and got out.

She stood on the sidewalk looking at her home and the "For Sale" sign in the yard. For some reason the people who'd bought her parents home had moved out after only a year.

Haley stood there, remembering all the good times she'd had there with her parents, her brothers and sisters, Nathan and Lucas. She heard a car door slam behind her and turned around.

"Hi." The realtor walked up and smiled at her. "Are you here for the open house? Interested in buying?"

"Oh, no," Haley said quickly. "I'm just looking."

"Ah. My name's Molly Hanson." She held out her hand.

Haley shook it firmly. "Haley."

Molly sensed a potential sale and said casually, "Do you want to come in and take a look around inside?"

Haley smiled. "I think I have a pretty good idea what it looks like."

"Come on, just peek in. It's really very nice, it's has a beautiful, warm atmosphere."

"Okay."

Molly unlocked the door and they walked in, and Haley looked around her old home. Most of the original furniture was still there, with some new pieces that were really quite nice.

"The place was owned by the Petersons. They had to leave quickly because Mrs. Peterson's father became very ill and he lives on the other side of the country. They decided to move out there permanently."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"They're looking to sell this property quickly and they'll throw in the furniture too, they're offering an incredibly good deal."

Haley sighed. "I wish I could buy it."

Her conversation with Nathan was running through her head. She'd been better at keeping up with Lucas but that was because Brooke had been helping her plan the wedding. She barely saw Keith, Karen or Deb anymore. It was only going to get harder to maintain those bonds after she got married.

"This place would make a great second home," Molly said confidently. "You could rent out rooms when you're not here . . ."

"I'll take it," Haley said suddenly.

Molly's mouth fell open a little with surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Haley laughed at herself.

* * *

"You bought a house?" Mark said. "You bought your old house."

"Yes." Haley smiled nervously.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just . . . I was standing there and remembering everything and the lady was telling me about what a great place it was—ironic, right?—and the words just fell out of my mouth."

"Haley, I can't live in Tree Hill, my job . . ."

"No, no. I don't expect us to live there."

Mark just looked at her. "Now I'm really confused. You want to buy the house, but you don't want to live in it."

"I was thinking that we could stay there whenever we go to visit my family."

Mark laughed. "Your family lives everywhere _but_ Tree Hill."

"I mean Lucas, Karen, Nathan and everybody."

Mark wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm just not sure we can afford it."

"We can," Haley said excitedly. "I have more than enough for the down payment in my savings and I make enough now to keep up with the mortgage payments. I can try and rent it out when we're not there."

Mark thought for a minute. "It could be a good investment, property values are about to rise in that area."

Haley rolled her eyes. "This isn't about making an investment, Mark. Tree Hill was my home, I just want . . . I want to hold on to a piece of it."

Mark looked at her for a moment. "I can see that there's no point in arguing with you."

"You've learned that already? I thought it might take years of marriage for you to understand that." Haley smiled.

Mark leaned down to kiss her and Haley wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm with you."

"You're the best. Thank you."

Haley ran a hand down his chest and Mark speedily unbuttoned her blouse and moved her back into the bedroom. He laid her back on the mattress and covered her, his mouth hot and demanding.

Haley opened her legs and he pressed up against her.

"I can think of one way you can really thank me," Mark whispered in her ear.

"Oh?" Haley rolled her hips upwards and Mark groaned.

He said something softly into her ear; Haley grinned and reached for his belt.

"Mr. Ascot, I'm shocked. I am not that kind of girl."


	16. Chapter 16 Back Then Forward

**Chapter 16 Back Then Forward**

_Sunday December 8, 2013  
_

Haley sat in her house, sprawled out on the couch with a cool cloth on her forehead. She'd been lying there for an hour, trying to relieve a massive headache.

The dress that she'd picked out for her wedding was supposed to have been shipped to Tree Hill yesterday. She'd flown down to her childhood home to pick it up and to get things ready. The wedding was in two weeks and she'd felt like she was on top of things, and then the caterer had cancelled on her and the dress had arrived in tatters. Apparently it had been next to a container full of dye that had broken open.

Haley had stood in the post office with a look of horror on her face as the manager mouthed apologies that she barely heard.

Even though she'd be reimbursed, that didn't leave Haley with a lot of options—at least if she wanted a special, one-of-a-kind, perfect dress.

She heard a knock at her door and dragged herself up to answer it.

Brooke stood there with a concerned look on her face.

"It can't be as bad as you think it is."

Haley didn't say anything, she just stepped to one side so that Brooke could see the dress.

"Oh, shit!" Brooke stared at it with dismay. "When you told me over the phone that it had been destroyed, I didn't think that you actually meant 'destroyed.'"

"Yeah, well." Haley slumped back down onto the couch. "I think that Mark and I are just going to forget about what we planned and drive to Vegas."

"Have you talked to anyone else yet? Maybe Mark's mother can do something?"

Haley snorted. "Diane booked my appointment with the dressmaker eight months in advance."

Brooke studied the dress. "A fancy New York designer, huh?"

"Yep," Haley sighed. "It's not that big a deal, I'm sure I can find something that will be okay, it's just that things just aren't falling into place."

"Haley James," Brooke said sternly, "we're talking about your wedding day. It should be more than 'okay.'"

"I'm hoping for 'okay' because right now it looks like the entire thing is going to be a complete disaster."

"Look, everything's going to be fine. What do you need?"

"I need a new dress, a new caterer, and a new venue."

"Is that all?" Brooke scoffed. "I can do that in my sleep."

"Things are completely booked, with the number of Fowells and James coming I have no idea how it's going to work out."

"I have a couple ideas, and I can make you a dress."

Haley sat up. "You can _make_ a dress? Since when?"

"I've always been fashion talented."

"Yeah, but . . . when did you learn how to sow?"

"I just picked it up."

Haley's look of confusion deepened. "You're telling me that you didn't need the years of education and training, or the experience that most people need to be able to just whip up a garment . . ."

"You're just going to have to accept the fact that I have skills on faith, Hales." Brooke grinned. "I have the perfect dress in mind for you. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, I know that this thing," Brooke nudged the dress mottled with patches of indigo blue with her toe, "isn't what you really wanted."

Haley shrugged. "Diane was so happy to be involved I kind of let her run with it. I do love it—I did love it—but there were a couple things that I wanted that weren't possible with this gown."

"Well, I'm thinking a tiara would be nice . . ."

"No, no, no."

Brooke looked offended. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Brooke Davis, if you want me to wear a tiara let me know now so that I can run down to the bridal shop and pick something off the rack."

"Fine," Brooke huffed. "I can take suggestions, but leave everything else to me."

* * *

_Monday December 16, 2013_

Lucas walked briskly out of the airport parking lot towards the terminal. Brooke had had him running everywhere during the last week so that Haley's wedding would actually happen.

He stepped through the automatic doors, felt a rush of warm air on his nearly frozen face and sighed with relief. He was exhausted and Nathan—damn him!—had been no help at all. He knew for a fact that his brother's schedule would have allowed him to come down to Tree Hill last weekend to help out, but he'd been holed up in Durham for a couple weeks. Probably out drinking and partying with his teammates because of the string of victories that the Devils had earned for Duke.

Lucas grimaced at himself. That wasn't really fair. Nathan had just played a game less than a week ago and he was scheduled to play another one only a few days after the wedding. He needed the time for rest and practice—but couldn't the guy phone once in a while to ask what was going on?

Lucas glanced around the baggage claim, looking for Mark and his brother. He finally caught sight of them and walked forward.

Mark saw him coming and looked at him quizzically. "Lucas?" They shook hands firmly and Lucas gave him a friendly smile. "I thought Haley was coming to pick us up."

"I know, but my fiancé had other plans for her so she sent me instead," Lucas said.

"Oh," Mark looked amused, "did something else go wrong? Haley's got me thinking that there's just one crisis after another."

"No, we've downgraded from a crisis to a predicament."

"Good to know. Lucas, I don't think that you've met Parker, my brother."

"It's a pleasure." Parker was a little taller than his brother, blond and handsome. Even though he was the elder brother he appeared to be younger than Mark because of the mischief twinkling in his eyes and his careless air.

Lucas shook his hand, too. "The car's not far, is this all your luggage?"

"Yes," Mark answered.

"Let's go."

* * *

Mark shivered and rubbed his hands together. The jacket that he was wearing wasn't warm enough for the weather and he was nearly hunched over because of the chill.

Lucas saw it and turned the heat up in the car. "Sorry, man, it'll be warmer in a minute."

"I can't believe how cold it is." Mark breathed into his cupped hands.

"Neither can I, we've never seen this much snow before. But Haley loves it, she's always wanted a white Christmas." Lucas glanced out the window at the unaccustomed sight of snowdrifts piled up on the side of the road.

Parker looked around Tree Hill as they drove through it. "So, Haley grew up here?" he asked his brother.

Mark nodded. "She insisted on having the wedding here. It's a beautiful town."

Parker grinned. "I'm surprised that Mom couldn't convince her to have it in New York."

"Don't underestimate how stubborn Haley can be." Lucas looked at his watch and made a turn.

"Oh, I won't. Anyone who can say no to my mother isn't to be taken lightly. Lucas, do you think we can stop somewhere and pick up some burgers? I'm starving."

"Don't worry"—Lucas glanced at Parker in the rearview mirror—"Haley's been cooking and she's got something ready for you at her house."

"Oh, we're not staying in a hotel?"

"Haley nearly bit my head off when I suggested it," Mark said. "'My brother-in-law is not staying at some hotel when there's plenty of room here,'" Mark quoted, making his voice artificially high.

Lucas laughed. "That sounds like Haley."

"That's really sweet," Parker said.

"She doesn't realize what a pain-in-the-ass you are," Mark retorted.

"You're just afraid that I'm going to tell her all the reasons why she shouldn't marry you. You really lucked out when she said yes."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"So you have met Haley before?" Lucas asked.

"Sort of," Parker answered. "I mean, we've spoken at the few family dinners that Mark brought her to but we've never really been able to sit down and talk. Mark's afraid that she'll realize that I'm the better man and run away with me."

Mark got a look on his face that indicated that he would like nothing more that to turn around in his seat and punch Parker in the chest.

"Keep dreaming," he said.

Parker grinned, delighted that he'd gotten a rise out of his brother.

Lucas pulled up in front of Haley's house and she appeared in the doorway as Mark and his brother took their luggage out of the trunk.

"Mark!" Haley rushed down the steps and almost jumped into his arms. He picked her up kissed her thoroughly before setting her down.

"How are things going with the wedding? Is there anything I can do?" Mark asked.

"No, Brooke is a miracle worker," Haley sighed with relief. "Almost everything's in place." She turned to smile at Parker and moved away from her fiancé to give him a hug. "Welcome to Tree Hill."

"Thanks." Parker's smile was wide. "I almost can't believe that I'm here, it feels like just yesterday you were announcing your engagement. The time has really flown by."

"Tell me about it," Haley said wryly. "Anyway, come inside. I hope you all like Chicken Marsala."

Mark shuddered. "As long as it's hot I'll have no complaints. Please, let's go inside before my parts fall off."

Everyone laughed; Haley and Parker walked in the house arm-in-arm, leaving Lucas and Mark to follow behind.

* * *

Almost right after dinner Haley had excused herself to go to bed. All the preparation work had left her exhausted, she'd begun nodding off at the table.

"Night." Mark kissed her briefly.

She waved to the others and left the room.

As soon as Parker heard the bedroom door close he turned to Mark with a grin. "So I've got some great ideas for the bachelor party—"

"No." Mark's tone was as final as a door slamming shut.

"Come on . . ."

"Parker," Mark said warningly, "I want to get married this week, okay?"

Lucas eyebrows rose with surprise. "Is there some history I need to hear about?"

Parker rolled his eyes. "Mark still blames me for something that happened years ago. One of our friends called off his wedding—"

"He didn't call it off, his fiancé did after she found out what Justin had been doing the night before they were supposed to get married!" Mark glared at his brother.

"Justin and Justine were in trouble long before what happened at the little party that I threw. I swear the only reason that they got engaged is because everyone expected them to and because they had matching names. Think about it, man. Justin and Justine. How could that possibly work out?"

Mark stared at his brother as if he'd lost his mind. "_You_ hired five strippers and Justin slept with one of them!"

"_I_ just hired them to dance. Justin is the one who decided to engage in extracurricular activities."

"And you don't think that's your fault?" Mark demanded.

Lucas' head turned to watch Parker. His head was swiveling back and forth between the brothers as if he was watching a tennis match.

"No, it's not my fault," Parker said easily. "All I wanted to do was have fun. Justin was looking for a way to get out of his wedding and he found it. If he hadn't done it then, he would have found another way to do it. If I'd tied Justin down, given him Viagra, and thrown that woman on top of him, then you could say it's my fault—but I didn't. Personal responsibility, little brother. You can't make someone do what he doesn't really want to do."

Mark glared at Parker but remained silent.

"Well," Lucas said lightly. Both men turned to him, a little surprised. They'd almost forgotten that he was there. "You guys don't need to worry about anything happening this time."

"I would never—" Mark started.

"No, no, I know that." Lucas waved his hand, trying to calm Mark's agitation.

"Hey, if you guys aren't up for strippers, that's fine with me. We can gamble and drink all night instead." Parker yawned.

"What is wrong with you?" Mark asked.

"You are the most uptight person I've ever met," Parker retorted. He turned to Luke, "Does your girlfriend have any objections to getting drunk and losing money?"

Lucas laughed. "Fiancé. And I'm more worried about what Brooke's got planned for Haley's party than anything we could pull off."

Parker looked intrigued. "I suppose that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to take her on for the title of 'Best Party Planner' then, huh?"

"If you want to take her on"—Lucas shook his head—"the only thing I can do for you is get out of the way." He stood up and stretched. "And if I want her to let me outside to play tomorrow I'd better get home."

"Thanks for the ride," Mark said.

"No problem. I'll swing by tomorrow and we'll go out to dinner. Parker can tell me everything that he has planned then."

Mark walked Lucas to the door and after it shut behind him he turned around to glare at his brother. "Thanks a lot."

"What?"

"Lucas is Haley's best friend and you just made him think that I'm going to be cheating on her before we even get married."

"Hey, you're the one who told him about what Justin did, not me."

"You brought it up!"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to go into details."

Mark fell back onto the sofa. "You are such an asshole."

"Relax, Lucas' opinion of you isn't going to suddenly change because of me." Parker smirked. "Anyone can tell that you've never cheated on anything in your entire life."

"After the crap you pulled Mom and Dad weren't about to let me follow in your footsteps."

"Too bad."

"You know that it's not too late for you to be more involved with the family."

"You mean it's not too late for me to stuff myself into a suit six days out of the week for the sake of the company Dad started. No thanks. You two think accounting is exciting"—the look on Parker's face said that he thought that was insanity—"and good for you, but I'd rather swim in a piranha tank with meat underwear."

"Creative." Mark couldn't help smiling.

He'd been trying to convince his brother to come back to the family business for years—with no success. He gave up for tonight.

"The guest room is made up for you," Mark said as he left the room. "Goodnight."

* * *

Lucas arrived the next morning with Brooke. Haley helped them both out of their coats and they stomped the snow off their boots before taking them off and following her into the kitchen.

"Morning all." Brooke looked extremely efficient, she had a pencil behind her ear and she was looking at her clipboard as she sat down at the table. "Lovely to see you again, Mark," she murmured as she checked a few things off her list. Done for the moment, she looked over at Parker. "I hear that you think you can top what I've put together for the bachelorette party."

"I've been warned by everyone that I shouldn't challenge the master." Parker's tone was light but the thought of a competition put a spark in his eyes.

"Pancakes anyone?" Haley asked. "If you're determined to have some kind of contest you should do it on a full stomach."

"Nothing for me, thanks Hales," Brooke said.

"I'll have some." Lucas' voice lowered with disappointment. "I didn't have anything this morning except granola and yogurt"—off of Brooke's look he said—"and I loved it! But I'm still hungry."

Haley set a plate in front of Lucas. It had a stack of buttermilk pancakes dripping with real maple syrup, scrambled eggs, and perfectly crisp bacon. He smiled his appreciation at her and dug in.

"Don't expect me to be doing this after we're married," Haley said to Mark as she sat down. "Once I've got that ring on my finger I'm not getting up before noon. You're going to have to make your own breakfast and feed me bon-bons."

Mark leaned over to kiss her lightly. "As long as I can look at you in the morning, I don't care."

Everyone groaned with mock-disgust and Haley looked at them all smugly. "Watch with envy, my friends."

"If you two are done grossing the rest of us out, maybe we can get some work done. The wedding is in six days," Brooke said.

"What do we need to do?" Mark asked.

"You guys can get down to Lacrosse Men's Wear and get your suits. Other than that, you don't need to do anything, I've got everything under control. You, Lucas, and Parker can go out and try to have as much fun as Haley and I will."

Lucas swallowed and spoke up. "That means, 'Stay out of my way.'"

"I'm going to need you to come in for another fitting for your dress," Brooke continued as if Lucas hadn't spoken.

"Really?" Haley took a sip of orange juice. "I thought everything was almost done."

"Well, it was . . . but I was thinking I could add a _little_ more detailing around the bust and along the hem—"

"No way, Brooke. The dress is perfect as it is, I don't need any more needlework. It's simple, it's elegant—"

"It's boring!" Brooke exclaimed.

Haley stood up. "Excuse us, gentlemen, Brooke and I have to go rip each other to pieces."

Brooke argued with Haley all the way to the door, at least, she tried to argue with her. Haley just looked at her patiently and didn't give one inch.

They pulled on their winter gear and went out the door. Lucas turned to the guys and said, "Is there anything you feel like doing today?"

"I'd like to see what kind of restaurants Tree Hill has to offer," Parker said.

* * *

In the afternoon after they were done with their fitting Lucas had driven them around to a couple different eateries. Parker had seen a small place by the water that Lucas didn't recognize.

"What about this one?" Parker pointed at the building with a hand-painted sign: Bob's Crab Shack.

"I don't think it's a good idea to eat crab prepared by someone named Bob," Mark said.

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I've never even heard of this place." Lucas peered at the restaurant. "It must be brand new."

"So the health inspectors haven't had time to shut it down yet," Mark said under his breath.

Parker hopped out of the car and headed towards the door, the snow making crunching noises under his boots. Lucas and Mark reluctantly followed, taking note of the fact that the place didn't seem to have even one other customer.

When they walked inside it was clean enough. The waitress waved at them and said, "Sit down anyplace you want, I'll be with you in a minute."

Parker shrugged off his coat, hung it up on a hook on the wall, and made his way to a table.

Mark sat and looked at the plastic plates and paper napkins and shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this."

The waitress came over to take their order and Parker was the only one who chose something. The other two men just asked for drinks. They sat around sipping their beers while Parker knocked back two shots of whiskey.

Mark glanced at he menu and then looked at his brother. "I don't trust seafood when it's that cheap."

"Oh, remove the stick from your ass." Parker was slightly tipsy. "It's not going to kill me."

"Fine. Risk your health if you want to."

Parker shook his head. "He has never taken a risk in his entire life," he confided in Lucas. "Not one. His last girlfriend left him because she realized how boring he was."

Lucas laughed—Parker's tone was playful—but when he looked at Mark he didn't seem amused.

"Your last girlfriend left because she couldn't stand how you never took anything seriously." Mark wasn't snapping but the strain in his voice revealed that he wanted to.

The waitress came back and placed a plate of fried calamari and a shrimp cocktail in front of Parker.

"True enough." He dipped his shrimp in the cocktail sauce and flourished it under his brother's nose.

Mark lifted his hand to push Parker's hand out of his face but before he could his brother ate the shrimp with obvious relish.

"Mmm," he murmured. "So good."

Mark sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You're going to get sick."

"So what?" Parker ate two more pieces of shrimp. "It tastes good now."

Mark pushed away from the table but before he could get up to leave Lucas said, "You know the only reason he's doing it is to stick it to you. I have a little brother, I know what I'm talking about."

"Where is Nathan?" Mark asked.

"He's going to be coming down tomorrow, hopefully. He keeps saying that he's going to be here and then something turns up."

"Nathan plays basketball for the Devils, right?" Parker asked.

"Yep, the team has had an incredible winning streak this season." And it's going straight to his head, Lucas thought. He's so caught up in the partying that he's been no help to us at all. Brooke is going to rip him a new one when she finally sees him—if I don't get to him first.

"I hope he can make it," Mark said. "I hope that Haley's family will all be able to make it."

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting all their names," Parker said apologetically.

"Don't be," Lucas reassured him. "Haley's mom used to joke that the only way she could remember how many children she had was to keep all their names tattooed on her forearm." Matt and Parker both laughed. "There's Quinn, Brian, Jen, Matt, and Taylor. We're still a little iffy on Brian and Taylor, they're both trying to get their families down here."

"Brian has four kids, right?" Mark asked.

"Five now," Lucas answered. "Whenever he goes anywhere it becomes a military operation. He'll be here if he possibly can, though."

"And Taylor?"

"She's got two daughters under the age of five. Traveling is not really a problem for her, she practically raising those girls on the road. She bought a 'land yacht'"—Lucas smiled as if he was enjoying some private joke—"and she's following her parents all around the country. But she's not sure if she wants to drive down here with her girls considering how bad the weather has been lately, so she's looking for a place to stash her RV. Brooke's helping her find something."

"And she doesn't need us to do anything except buy our suits?" Parker asked. "_And_ she's planning a party for Haley?" he continued incredulously. "She must be a superwoman."

"More like Wonder Woman," Lucas said proudly.

"Are you done with that so we can go?" Mark asked impatiently.

Parker gave his brother a slow smile. "I think I might need a take-out bag."

* * *

Haley was trying on a few different shoes that she thought would be perfect with her dress and Brooke was taking calls on her cell phone. She snapped it shut and checked two more things off her list.

"Brian and Taylor are definitely coming, I was able to get a hold of a babysitting service and we're going to have a room where all the kids can hang out during the wedding. Your brother sounded a little too excited about having someone to hand his kids over to."

"Brooke, you're incredible," Haley said.

"Don't thank me for that one, Deb's the one who actually made the calls. Turn around."

Haley obliged her and Brooke looked critically at the length of the heels. "Too high and the color's not quite right."

Haley kicked them off and sat down to pull on another pair of shoes. "What about Nathan?"

"What about him," Brooke grumbled.

"Take it easy on him, it's been huge year for Nathan. He can't just drop everything and go where he wants to anymore."

"If you say so. I called him and he said that he'd be down here later today."

"Good, everyone who matters to me will be here by Saturday. What about this pair?" Haley raised her leg so that Brooke could see the white pumps she was wearing.

* * *

Nathan drove down the road, staring blankly ahead. He'd stayed in Durham for as long as he could, keeping himself busy with partying and drinking, but he couldn't avoid Tree Hill any longer.

He watched the highway stretch out in front of him and listened to the hypnotic hum of the engine. He wished that he could just keep on driving.

Katie had had to fly home to Nevada to be with her family—they were starting their holiday celebration a little early this year. In her absence Nathan felt a little adrift; it was harder to maintain his detachment from the upcoming wedding when she wasn't around.

The last time he'd seen Haley his feelings had been running hot, but thankfully his agitation had eased when he'd fallen into his routine at Duke.

He was worried. He didn't want to put his objectivity to the test by going back home—but there was nothing for it. He'd been fielding calls from his brother, his mother, and even Brooke. Haley had been so busy that he hadn't spoken to her in weeks.

Nathan's cell phone rang so pulled out his earpiece and switched it on.

"I heard about you beating San Jose State. Congratulations, man," Tim said.

"Thanks."

"It makes me wish that I'd stuck with basketball," Tim paused, "nah, that's a lie. I'm too lazy for that. I wish that I'd gone to Duke so that I could be on a winning team and let you do all the work."

"How would that have been any different from high school?" Nathan teased.

"Kiss my ass."

Tim and Nathan had kept in touch, off and on, over the past two years. Tim had gone to Columbia and after his freshman year had dropped out of the team to focus on his major: international finance.

To his father's great surprise Tim had shown that he had a gift for business management when he'd taken on a summer internship at a colleague's company. Pleased with his son's initial success he'd taken on a more active role in his life than ever before; Tim was attending a business seminar that his father had insisted he participate in to get him some experience out in the world and to network.

"How are things going out there?"

"Great. I had my picture taken in front of the Library Of Congress and I've been shaking hands with politicians all day."

"Sounds fun."

"I'm bored out of my fucking mind. I like working with people, but dealing with management is always a pain. Hopefully I'll be done by next week. Enough about my boring-ass life. What are you doing?"

"I'm driving down to Tree Hill."

"Yeah? What for?"

Nathan hesitated. "Haley's getting married."

There was a _thunk_ on the other end of the line, as if Tim had dropped the phone. After some fumbling noises he heard Tim's voice again.

"Crap. Are you serious?"

"You think I'd joke about something like that?" Nathan asked, irritated.

"No. Damn, man. I—"

"You didn't know? I'm surprised your mom didn't tell you about it."

The silence stretched out as Tim searched for something to say. "I'm sorry, Nate."

"It's fine," he said shortly. "Listen, I've got to go. I'll call you later."

"Sure."

* * *

Nathan stepped out of his car and just stood for a moment. He stared up at his house and looked at the glowing windows as his breath became a white fog in the air.

It was night, it was freezing, but he still hesitated before grabbing his duffel bag out of the back seat and walking through the door.

He took off his boots in the entranceway and stepped into the living room. His mother sat there with Brooke, Haley, Lucas, Mark and some blond man he didn't recognize.

"Nathan!" His mother jumped up to give him a hug and he smiled, genuinely glad to see her.

"What's with all the affection, Mom?" he teased. "I haven't been gone that long, have I?"

"Yes you have, you brat."

Nathan kept his eyes on his mother but he knew that Haley was standing at his elbow, he didn't even need to look to know she was there.

He turned and hugged her too, while he saw Mark stand up out of the corner of his eye.

"About time little brother," Lucas said.

"Nathan, let me introduce you." Haley wrapped on hand around his arm and tugged him forward. "Mark you already know, but this is his older brother, Parker."

Nathan eyed the three men standing in front of him. He was struck by the odd similarity between them: Lucas was blond and fair-skinned; Mark bore some resemblance to Lucas but his hair was much darker, more brown than blond; and Parker could have been Luke's cousin, he had the same color hair and eyes as he did—but what set him apart was an aura that said he was always ready for a party.

Lucas and Mark were both very serious men; but he thought that Luke had a better sense of humor—he'd probably had to develop one over the years because of Haley's presence.

Parker looked just like the kind of guys he'd been hanging out with for years and he relaxed slightly.

"Nice to meet you," Nathan said.

Parker shook his hand firmly. "Likewise."

"Your mom was nice enough to order in for us," Brooke said. "Nobody has the energy to cook anything anymore."

"I know I don't." Haley sat back on the couch.

"I hope you boys like Italian." Deb walked into the kitchen. Parker, Lucas, and Mark trailed eagerly behind her.

"Are you coming, Haley?" Mark asked.

"Maybe later, I just want to veg out for a minute."

Nathan sat down next to her as Brooke said, "I think I'm almost too tired to eat, too."

"You've got to let me help with something," Haley insisted.

The brunette shook her head firmly. "No way. You're doing enough already. But you"—Brooke turned to look at Nathan sternly—"haven't."

"Brooke, he just got here—" Haley started.

"What is it you want me to do?" Nathan said with resignation.

"First thing tomorrow morning I want you to go and pick up your suit. I was lucky that your mom still has all your measurements or it might not have been ready on time."

Oh, joy, Nathan thought. Out loud he said, "Of course."

"And while Lucas is out with Parker and Mark, I want you to pick up the shoes I bought for all of you at"—Brooke picked up the clipboard that was never far from her side and checked the name—"Taryn's by nine-thirty tomorrow morning."

"Brooke—" Haley said.

"It's two things," Brooke shushed her. "He can do two things."

"That's fine with me," Nathan said mildly.

Brooke's cell phone rang and she picked up. "Hi, Lydia. Did you get a chance to talk to your florist friend?"

Haley held out her hand and Brooke reluctantly surrendered her cell. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, baby. Would you mind putting Brooke back on the phone?"

"Oh, you don't want to talk to your own daughter?" Haley pretended to be outraged.

"You know I love you, honey. Now put Brooke back on the phone."

Brooke practically snatched the phone from her hands and went into the other room to talk.

Haley turned to him. "It's like this wedding is a runaway train and I don't have any idea where it's going to stop."

"That bad, huh?" Nathan settled back onto the cushions.

"You have no idea. I had everything planned and set months ago, but there's just been one surprise after another."

"It looks like my lovely, lovely sister-to-be is on top of things."

"I swear that woman could be the next president."

"What about you? You're not feeling too stressed are you?"

"Not anymore. I was freaking out a couple weeks ago but I've found the secret."

"The secret?" Nathan smiled at the contented look on Haley's face. "What secret?"

"The secret to all existence."

Nathan leaned forward to whisper, "What is it?"

"What's going to happen is going to happen," Haley leaned in, too, her voice low, her eyes laughing, "and there's nothing I can do about it."

Nathan looked into her sparkling eyes and gave her a twisted smile. "I suppose that's true."

* * *

The next morning Nathan drove down the street to the shoe store and pulled into the parking lot. He slammed his door and hurried up to the entrance, only to find it locked.

He looked into the storefront window and saw that the lights were off and there was no one there. Nathan cursed to himself and checked his watch. Nine-fifteen.

He returned to his car and sat there for a minute before deciding to drive down to the bookstore a few blocks down and wait there for a while before coming back to see if the store was open. He considered waiting in the car a little longer but the thought of their gourmet coffee on this cold morning was too tempting to resist and he put the car in gear.

Nathan settled into an overstuffed chair with a magazine and a coffee, enjoying the heat that warmed his chilled fingers. He found an article on the new talent to come into the NBA, set his cup on a side table, and began to read.

Some time later, Nathan woke up with a jerk. He yawned, stretched, and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Flipping it open he saw no fewer than fifteen missed calls, all of them from Brooke. He groaned softly and reluctantly pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Nathan?" Brooke said, surprised.

"Yes?"

"What the hell! Do you know what time it is?!"

She was so loud that Nathan moved the phone a little farther from his ear.

"No . . ." He was still a little slow, he felt like his mind hadn't completely woken up yet.

"Don't you have a watch on you?"

Nathan glanced at it and sat up abruptly. "Oh, shit. It's Four-twenty."

"Four-twenty-three," Brooke gritted out. "Is this your way of being funny? Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Look, I'm sorry." Nathan surged out of his seat and accidentally knocked his coffee cup over. Luckily the liquid was cold so it didn't scald him when it landed on his pant leg.

"Dammit!" he cursed. One of the teenagers behind the counter brought out a couple napkins and a rag to clean up the mess and Nathan tried to help as much as he could.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. Look, the place was closed when I got there so I decided to wait in a store down the road—"

"For seven hours," Brooke finished sarcastically.

"I fell asleep!" Nathan threw a ridiculously large tip at the server and rushed outside, fumbling for his keys. "I'm sorry I can't just hang upside down in cave for three hours like you do—"

"Shut up." Brooke was furious. "This is what you're going to do. You're going to go back to the store, tell the woman behind the counter that you have an order to pick up for Brooke Davis, and then you're going to bring the package that they give you straight to Deb's house and drop it off. Then you're going to drive down to Karen's house because we're all meeting there for dinner—and I swear if you mess this up I will disembowel you and use your guts for party favors."

Nathan clenched his teeth. "I'm sor—" Brooke had already hung up.

Nathan got behind the wheel and hit it once with his fist before driving off quickly.

* * *

Nathan arrived at Karen's in a foul mood. He'd picked up the package from Taryn's and as he was walking out he'd heard their phone ring.

The cashier had picked up and said, "Yes, Ms. Davis, he's heading out the door with it now."

And after he'd dropped the shoes off with his mother, she'd gotten a phone call from Brooke, too.

"Yeah, he's here." Debwalked briskly through her house, throwing different wedding paraphernalia into a bag—probably for Brooke.

"Yep, I'll check each one to make sure they're all the right size and color." Deb laughed at something Brooke said and hung up, turning to look at her son with an eyebrow raised. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Can we get into it later, Mom? I'm starving and I haven't had anything all day except half a cup of coffee."

"Okay, I've got a ton to do. Why don't I just meet you there?"

Nathan had nodded and headed back out into the cold.

He sat there with some of the best lasagna that Karen had ever made and couldn't even enjoy it. Brooke kept glaring at him when she wasn't eating or leaving the table to take phone calls.

"I'm here!" Deb rushed in, breathless and rosy-cheeked from the cold. "Tell me you saved some for me."

"Please, it's me," Karen said, and handed Deb a plate piled high with lasagna, garlic bread, and salad while Keith helped her out of her coat.

Haley and Mark were engaged in what looked like a fairly intense conversation in the corner, while Lucas and Parker watched a taped game on the television.

"We're finally all here, captain," Keith said to Brooke with a smile. "Give us your orders."

Everyone sat down around the table.

"Thanks." Brooke gave Keith a fond smile that fell off her face when she turned to look at him. "I was hoping that we'd have a full dress rehearsal this afternoon so that I could make sure that everything fit but since that's not possible"—she paused dramatically while Nathan resisted the urge to say something in his defense—"we'll just have to do it before the rehearsal dinner tomorrow."

Brooke looked down at her notes as Haley said, "My parents told me that they're going to get here early tomorrow morning."

"I've booked a room for them at the hotel."

"They can stay with me, I still have two empty rooms."

Brooke shook her head, "If they really want to, I guess that's fine but all the James' and Ascots are going to be at the hotel, it might be easier to make get them all from place to place if they're all together."

Haley shrugged. "They won't care. I'll call and tell them where the Radisson is."

"Your families, will all be here"—Brooke crossed her fingers—"by noon tomorrow, and the rest of the guests will hopefully be here by Friday night."

"Do we have to do anything on Friday?" Nathan asked his brother quietly.

Brooke caught what he said and gave him an annoyed glance. "If everyone just wants to rest in their rooms they can but I've got a few things planned for them for Friday, and the hotel restaurant is giving us a great deal on providing meals so we don't have to worry about cooking for everyone."

Brooke pulled out a small gift bag and drew a program out. "You two," she looked at Nathan and Lucas, "will be handing these out to every one of our guests."

"Are you sure you have enough?" Lucas asked.

Brooke stepped to one side and he saw the grocery bags stuffed full of the party favors and leaned back in his chair.

"Of course you do."

"What about us?" Parker indicated himself and his brother. "Don't we have anything to do?"

"I was hoping you two would be willing to make sure that everyone knows when things are going to happen. Making announcements about when breakfast starts, when the different activities are going to happen, that kind of thing."

"No problem," Mark said.

Haley was reading one of the programs and was surprised to see all the activities that had been arranged for the guests.

"Sleigh-riding, Brooke?" Haley asked incredulously. "How did you pull that one off?"

"Skill and natural talent." Brooke sat down. For the first time she looked a little tired and she hid a yawn with her hand. "Late Friday afternoon you, me, and a few select women will disappear for the bachelorette party. Karen, Deb, prepare yourself for a night that will be burned into your minds forever."

Parker looked amused. "Maybe you should let us come, too."

"Sorry, no men—at least, no men with clothes on."

Haley, Deb, and Karen laughed while their sons and significant others exchanged looks that were a little freaked out.

Brooke sat down and polished off the rest of her salad, while everyone else talked around her. She saw Nathan say something to Lucas and she wanted to pull him aside so she could yell at him in private—but there was no way that she was going to do it in front of Haley since they were so close to the wedding. It looked like that was going to have to wait until later, because she needed at least seven hours of sleep. Tomorrow morning she'd be ready to tear into him.

Karen looked at Brooke's face and leaned down to say something into her son's ear.

Lucas stood up and led his fiancé into his old room, coming out a minute later and shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Is she okay?" Haley looked a little worried.

"She's fine." Lucas put an arm around her. "She was out the minute her head hit the pillow. I think we're going to just crash here tonight instead of going home."

"Don't let her push herself too hard, Luke."

"I won't."

Parker rubbed his hands together. "Nobody tell Brooke, but I have something planned, too."

"Parker," Mark said warningly.

"Calm down, unlike Haley's party, ours is going to be completely PG."

"That sounds a little boring." Haley stood up and wrapped her arms around Mark.

"Boring?" Parker was almost insulted. "I'm just as capable of good, clean fun as anybody."

"Sure you are." Lucas pointed a thumb at his brother. "And Nathan spent the last couple weeks sipping tea and eating scones with his teammates."

They all laughed and Nathan smirked to hide his annoyance.

Parker got up to leave with Haley and Mark; his mother took out her car keys and rubbed the back of her neck tiredly.

"Are you ready to go, Nate?" Deb asked.

"Yeah, it's been a long day."

* * *

_Thursday December 19, 2013_

When Haley's alarm went off the next morning she knocked it off the nightstand and burrowed further under the covers.

"Haley?" Mark said groggily.

"There is no one named Haley here," she replied.

He laughed a little and said, "Really? Because if I didn't wake up next to her, Haley's going to be furious."

She pulled a pillow over her head. "It's warm in here and cold out there. Logic dictates that we should stay put."

"Unfortunately, everybody's coming today. Therefore logic dictates," Mark sat up and blinked the grit out of his eyes, "that we have to get out of bed."

"I don't even know what day it is anymore," Haley groaned.

"It's Thursday."

"And when is the wedding again?"

"Saturday."

"Wrong. We're driving down to the courthouse, getting married, and leaving the state before anyone realizes that we've gone.

Mark slid over to her side of the bed and pulled her pillow away. "That's an idea. But if we do that then we should plan on never coming back, because I know for a fact that Brooke would kill us both. Quickly, if we're lucky."

Remembering all the work her friend was putting into her wedding finally got Haley into the shower; then dressed and ready to go.

* * *

Haley was standing in the lobby of the Radisson when she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned and saw her brother Matt struggling to get his rolling suitcase through the door.

"Matt!" Haley hugged him and he laughed with surprise.

"Am I the first one here?" he asked. When Haley nodded he added, "Of course I am. And my status as the most punctual James remains unchallenged."

"I think you mean the second most punctual," Haley said primly. "Besides, you don't have kids to slow you down."

"Not yet," Matt said casually.

"Not yet?" Disbelief colored Haley's voice. "No! Barb's pregnant? Does Mom know?"

"We just found out ourselves a couple days ago."

"Oh my God!"

"Ssh." Mark looked around. "The only reason that I told you is because I didn't bring a wedding gift." Haley hit at him but Matt deflected the blow easily. "Don't tell anyone, okay? We want to wait a little longer to spread the news, and we wouldn't want to steal your thunder anyway."

"I don't care—"

"Promise me, Hales."

"Fine," Haley said reluctantly. "But I'm going to be making calls right after I get back from my honeymoon if you haven't told anyone by then. So I guess this means that you and Barb will finally be getting married?"

It was a matter of intense speculation in the James family: Matt and Barb were clearly crazy about each other, but for one reason or another they'd decided to date for the last six years instead of taking the leap.

"You're starting to sound like Dad," Matt said warningly.

Haley pretended to zip her mouth closed and throw away the key.

"Have you and Mark decided on whether or not you're moving to New York? I'd love to be able to show you around my city."

"_Your_ city?" Haley pushed his shoulder lightly. "We were talking about it yesterday and I think we're going to do it. Mark's parents might be moving there too."

Matt looked surprised. "How do you know?"

"I phoned his mother yesterday and she told me that they have a partner who's been setting up a branch of their business in the city or maybe even in New Jersey. They were planning on staying in Montana but I guess they're tired of wide open spaces."

"I know I'd miss the smell of the subways."

"Ick, Matt."

"So where's Mark? I'd like to actually lay eyes on the guy who's marrying my littlest sister."

"What are you talking about? You've met him before."

"Talking to someone for the five minutes while he has free between business meetings is not 'meeting someone.'"

"He's upstairs getting his assignments from Brooke."

"She the ringleader, then?"

"It's definitely not me, I'm just the bride."

* * *

A couple hours later Lydia and Jimmy arrived, and when they walked through the door it was like a signal was sent out because all of the James' came in after them en masse.

Haley's brothers and sisters, all their spouses, all the children, and a few extra in-laws crowded the lobby.

The noise and chaos was incredible but Brooke waded through it all with a calm that Nathan couldn't help but envy, directing everyone to their rooms.

The parade of bodies made Nathan feel a little like a trapped animal—even though he loved Haley's family. He just wasn't used to being around so many people, his mother had only one brother. Growing up he didn't see the family that he did have all that often—which was a shame since they were great people.

"You're getting that look," Matt said.

Nathan turned around and raised his eyebrow. "What look is that?"

"The look Barb gets on her face whenever she walks into a room with my family in it. Do you know what she told me once? 'I love them but I need to stand outside for a minute.'"

Nathan laughed. "I do love them, but I don't need to stand outside. It's just that I feel a little like I'm back in junior high and I'm waiting for an assignment from a teacher. I've only been exposed to the wedding planning thing for a few days and I'm already feeling the burn."

"Ouch." Matt winced in sympathy. "At least you're not the groom, I remember Brian nearly having a breakdown the week before his wedding. Nicole pulled him through that ordeal."

"Come on," Nathan said, disbelieving. Brian was one of the most physically imposing men that he knew. "Breakdown" didn't even look like it was in his vocabulary.

"Oh, yes. If I had to bet on who would come out on top in a knife fight—my brother or his wife—I'd double down on Nicole."

Nathan snorted as Matt waved at him and went up to find his room.

Mark's side of the family trickled in steadily, two or three at a time. He was able to pick out Mark's parents instantly; he was nearly the image of his mother: a handsome older woman with an air of class and breeding. His father came in a well-tailored suit and was clearly happy to see Haley when he stepped in from the cold.

He and his brother made sure that everyone got an itinerary; Nathan handed each bag out with a distracted smile, barely looking or listening to the people who came in and forgetting their names the minute they left his vicinity.

After everyone had been taken care of, their small group retreated to the waiting room and collapsed into the chairs. Brooke only sat for few moments before getting up again.

"We'll give them a couple hours to get settled but then we can let everyone know that we've arranged for a light lunch before the rehearsal dinner tonight."

"Do we have anything planned for them after we eat?" Deb asked.

Brooke shook her head. "Everyone's probably so jet-lagged or tired from sitting in their cars that we're better off cutting them loose for the rest of the day."

"That's a great idea," Parker said. "I feel ready to pass out right now and I haven't been on the road for eight hours."

Brooke looked at him. "I rented an extra room in case any of you need to crash for a while."

"You've thought of everything, Brooke," Karen said, impressed.

"Do you mind if I use it?" Parker asked.

Brooke tossed him the key card and he caught it in midair.

"Be back for lunch," Brooke said.

"I think I might skip it." Parker got up slowly. "If someone could come wake me up before we leave for dinner that would be great."

"I'll send someone up for you." Brooke wrote a note to herself on a post-it and stuck it on her clipboard. "Hales, can you get your sisters to get over to your mother's room in about an hour so that they can try on their bridesmaids dresses? We can have you try on your dress too." Haley nodded she turned to Lucas. "And I need you, Mark, and Nathan to put on your suits so I can see everything together." She added to herself, "I can have Parker dress up later."

"Anything else commandant?" Keith asked.

"That's all for now," she said to him sweetly.

* * *

Hours later Haley was back in the lobby, looking into the fireplace. The dresses fit her sisters perfectly and when Brooke had finally brought out the dress that she'd be wearing for the ceremony even she'd been stunned by how beautifully it had turned out.

She nearly felt like crying when she saw how much time Brooke must have put into it. It had fitted fit her like a dream but there'd been a small tear in the waist where the stitching had come a little loose. It was barely noticeable but when Brooke had seen it Haley could practically feel her blood pressure rising.

Haley had bitten her lip, sensing that Brooke really wouldn't be open to hearing her "what will happen, will happen" philosophy. Brooke had taken the dress back, promising to have it fixed right away—but Haley had taken her hands and forced her to sit down and put her feet up, threatening to elope with Mark if she didn't take some time to rest.

After everyone had gone on to lunch Haley fixed up a plate for Brooke, brought it back to the room, and forced her to take the time to enjoy it.

After her mother had assured her that she would sit on Brooke if she tried to anything but lay back and watch TV, she went to the lobby downstairs to be alone for a while. She loved how everything was happening all at once—her wedding was definitely not going to be boring—but she'd suddenly felt the need for some solitude.

She stared into the fireplace and then heard someone walk up behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

Haley turned to look at him and she sat down on the raised hearth, keeping close to the warmth.

"Nothing, just thinking about what I have to do tomorrow."

Haley shivered and he took his coat off, put it around her, and sat in front of her in one of the chairs.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

Nathan shook his head. Even though he was a little chilled and there was plenty of room next to Haley, he sat back and looked at her. The firelight cast moving shadows over her face—which looked tired.

"I bet you'll be glad when this is all over with," Nathan said. "I'm sure that Brooke will probably stay in bed for a solid week after it's done."

"She'd better." Haley wrapped his coat around her tighter. "I swear, I'm thinking about sending her with Mark on my honeymoon. She could use the break."

Nathan laughed and against his will he felt himself relax. He couldn't stop the snickers that kept escaping his throat and Haley smiled, pleased at the success of her joke.

He knew it was so, so wrong, but the idea of Brooke and Mark running away together—leaving Haley with him—was so funny that he almost felt hysterical. Stop it, Nathan, he said to himself. Think about what it would do to Lucas. He felt guilty when he imagined how devastated his brother and Haley would be and then rolled his eyes at himself. He was feeling guilty about a hypothetical situation that would never, ever happen.

That sobered him up. It would _never_ happen. Even if the wedding didn't go off as perfectly as he knew Brooke wanted it to, it would still happen. Nathan took a deep breath and felt some of the perspective that he'd been able to get during his self-imposed separation from Haley come back. Continuing to wish for her was something a child or an adolescent would do. She was happy and if he loved her, he'd let her go. She loved him, in her way, he knew she would want him to move on if she knew what he was going through. Nathan felt tension that had been running through him for the past couple weeks ease a little.

Haley saw the change come over his face but before she could ask him what he was thinking, Mark stepped into the room.

"There you are," he said. "Everyone's on their way down so if you want to use the elevators you're probably going to have to wait half and hour or so."

Haley stood up as her parents walked into the room with Brooke.

"You two know the area so I'm hoping that you would each drive one of the vans and everyone else can follow in whatever they drove up here," Brooke said.

Lydia nodded and Jimmy grinned. "Can I really say no?" he asked.

"I wouldn't test her if I were you, Dad," Haley said.

"I raised four daughters, your brothers and I were completely outnumbered in my own house, and you think I can't survive her too?"

"No."

"Can you go upstairs and get Parker, Nate?" Brooke asked.

"Sure." Nathan braced one hand on his knee and stood up. He watched Haley talk to her father, still wearing his coat, as the elevator doors closed in front of him.

* * *

Nathan walked down the hall to the room and knocked on the door. When Parker didn't answer he knocked harder but didn't get any response. He waited a little while, listening, and knocked once more. He made his way back downstairs, thinking that Parker might have left the room already, and ran into Lucas in the lobby.

"Have you seen Parker?"

"I think I saw him leave with Mrs. James in her van," Lucas said.

"Good." Nathan looked around the room for his mother.

"You can ride with me, everyone's already left. And"—Lucas pulled his coat off a chair—"Haley said to give this back to you."

"Thanks."

* * *

The wedding rehearsal had gone off without a hitch and Brooke breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled out her clipboard and the huge three-ring binder that she used to keep all the wedding plans in order. She slipped into the office to look over a few details so that Haley wouldn't see her—she knew that her friend would insist on helping her and she was already doing too much.

In the church basement the rest of Haley and Mark's friends and family sat around the huge rectangular table set up in the middle of the room. The children sat at their own table off to the side.

It was fairly busy: people moving in and out of the room to make calls, talk to their children, or chat with their new in-laws.

Karen had arranged a wonderful meal; Haley glanced down at her plate. There was stuffed chicken breast, salad, and green beans. She took a bite of her chicken and closed her eyes in ecstasy. Everything was delicious but Haley didn't feel all that hungry. She was full of nervous energy, which she supposed was normal.

Mark seemed like he was still exhausted from all the running around they'd done today and even though he was smiling and talking, she could tell that he'd be out the minute he laid down tonight.

Her brothers and sisters were sitting farther away from her so that they could be closer to their children, who were starting to get a little rowdy now that they were with their cousins. On her end of the table was her mother, Mark's mother, and Lucas to her right, and her father, Mark's father, and Nathan to her left.

The buzz of different conversations was low and pleasant, and Haley had to fight to stay awake.

"So Diane," Lydia said, "Haley tells me that you're thinking of moving to New York."

"They haven't decided anything yet, Mom," Haley said.

Mark looked over at his mother. "Really? You didn't tell me that."

"We haven't made any firm plans," Diane said, looking at her husband. "Isn't that right?"

"No, but it would be nice to be back in the city again." Paul took a sip of his wine. "We used to live there before we moved out to California."

"And when California didn't work out for us we found a place in Montana that we thought was perfect," Diane said.

"But it turns out that we've gotten too used to the noise." Mark's father had a low, deep voice. Haley always enjoyed listening to him talk, even though the topic of choice was usually accounting—which bored her to death.

"I didn't mind moving but I miss the action of the city," Diane grinned, "everything moves so fast and it's so challenging—"

"And nobody is more suited to it than my mother," Mark said teasingly. "She moves faster than any of us can."

"Jimmy and I love visiting New York but now that we've retired I have no desire to enter the workforce ever again. I look forward to being lazy for the rest of my life," Lydia said.

Jimmy grabbed some bread and buttered it. "Amen."

Taylor heard them from where she was and snorted. "Lazy? I'll have you know that they've got me running around working with them for this charity and that charity. My girls and I have done it all, building homes, serving soup, holding clothing drives, collecting cans . . ."

"Just think of it as building up your good karma, Tay," Matt said.

"Why would I need good karma?"

Haley pretended to study her nails when Taylor looked her way and so did everyone else in her family.

Taylor glared at them and opened her mouth to say something when her daughter ran up to her and shook her arm.

"What is it Athena?" she asked.

She leaned down and the little girl whispered something in her ear. She got up and took her by the hand and led her out of the room.

"Saved by the potty break," Quinn said, pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead.

Everyone in Haley's family, including Lucas and Nathan, started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Diane asked.

Keith answered for them all. "Let's just say that Taylor has a . . . colorful . . . history."

Mark leaned over to talk to Haley. "Did I hear you sister call her daughter 'Athena'?"

Haley turned to him with wry smile. "Her real name is Callie but Taylor wants her daughters to 'embrace the goddess within' so she calls her oldest Athena and her youngest Artemis. The rest of us just use 'Ena' and 'Ris' because we can't quite bring ourselves to use those names for our nieces."

Mark nodded thoughtfully. "Wow."

"I know."

Mark turned to talk to his father and Haley let her eyes wander around the room. She managed to catch Barb's gaze, grinned widely at her, and glanced down at her stomach.

Barb cocked her head quizzically and then realized that Haley knew. Her mouth dropped open slightly with surprise and then she smiled and shrugged before turning to her boyfriend and hitting him hard.

Matt rubbed his arm and looked at Barb with a bewildered expression, and then looked over at Haley. He narrowed his eyes at her slightly, as if to say "I'm going to get you for this," and put an arm around his girlfriend.

Brooke finally made her way downstairs and sat down next to Lucas.

"Let me get a plate for you," Deb said.

"No, I'll grab something later," Brooke waved the offer away, "it's almost time for us to leave anyway."

About twenty minutes later everyone was finished and moving towards the door.

Brooke glanced down at her notes, unable to shake the feeling that she was forgetting something but remembered everything she had to do tomorrow and shrugged it off.

* * *

When they got back to the hotel, Brooke looked around at everyone in the lobby and then turned to Mark.

"Where's your brother?"

"I haven't seen him all night, I figured he was just sitting with someone else." Mark glanced around. "If there's a single woman anywhere near him chances are he's going to find a way to disappear with her."

"Nathan!" Brooke flagged him down. "Did you wake up Parker?"

"I went up to his room but there wasn't anyone there. I figured that he must have come down on his own."

Haley appeared at Mark's side. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no." Brooke frowned. "It just looks like we've lost Parker for a minute. I'll go check his room."

Haley, Nathan, and Mark followed Brooke into the elevator and stood outside the door while she knocked. She didn't get an answer she pulled a spare key card out of her pocket and let herself in.

"Parker?" Brooke said.

There wasn't anyone in the room. Haley heard something in the bathroom and opened the door slowly. She gasped with shock and Mark pushed in behind her.

Parker was slumped over in the tub, naked. He was hanging over the side with a towel under his head. He looked awful, as if he'd been vomiting and judging by the smell in the bathroom he's he'd been in there for some time.

Nathan drew Haley and Brooke out of the room and stepped inside with Mark, shutting the door firmly behind him.

A while later he emerged with a worried look on his face.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked.

"I'm not sure," Nathan said. "But Mark's helping his brother clean up a little before we take him to the emergency room."

"Should we call an ambulance?" Haley asked.

"I don't think so."

"Lord." Brooke closed her eyes for a minute and then opened them.

"I'll go get his parents," Haley said.

Brooke stopped her. "I'm not sure where they are but let's not waste any time looking for them. Why don't you go get your car and we'll drive Parker to the hospital. We can call everyone when we get there."

Haley nodded and left the room.

* * *

"Salmonella poisoning," Mark said with relief as he walked into the hospital waiting room. "The idiot. I told him that he shouldn't have eaten that shrimp."

Haley let out the breath she'd been holding. "So he's going to be okay?"

"He was a little dehydrated, so that made it even worse, but the doctor told me that he should be fine by next week. They want to hold him for a couple days for observation and give him fluids."

Nathan stood up and flipped his phone open. Luckily the Ascots had great insurance (the admitting nurse had practically laid down a red carpet for them) and they'd gotten in to see a physician in record time. Before they'd been able to contact anyone they'd already found out that Parker would be fine.

Mr. and Mrs. Ascot were coming down to check on their son but otherwise everything would be moving forward—minus the brother of the groom.

Haley put her arms around Mark and he rested his head in her hair.

"I'm beginning to think that eloping isn't such a bad idea," he said.

"Too late now," Haley pulled back to look into his face, "you should have taken me up on my offer when you had the chance."

"That's right." Brooke stood up out of the uncomfortably hard chair she'd been sitting in and stretched. "Besides, after everything that's happened I want to see somebody walk down an aisle, and at this point I don't really care who it is. If Nathan wanted to marry Mark I'd hand him a bouquet and walk him to the altar myself."

Haley and Mark laughed. Brooke's cell phone rang and she picked up, walking out of the room.

Haley turned to Nathan. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep? It's been a long day for you."

Mark put a hand on the back of Haley's neck. "You should too, Haley. You have a lot to do tomorrow."

"I don't want to leave Parker here by himself."

"Don't worry, I'll stay with him until our parents get here."

"But—"

"Go." Mark pushed her gently. "You're practically falling off your feet."

Haley tried to hide a yawn but was unsuccessful. "Okay," she relented.

"Tell Parker that I hope he feels better soon," Nathan said. He didn't think he'd ever seen a man more miserable than Parker had been in that bathroom.

"Thanks, man," Mark said.

Haley and Nathan walked out of the room and ran into Brooke. She snapped her phone shut and looked over at them.

"I just talked to Luke. He and Keith are holding things down over at the hotel but I'd better get back there."

"I think everyone will be fine. Why don't you and Luke go home and we'll just take care of things in the morning," Haley said.

"But I wanted to make sure everyone knows what's going to happen tomorrow—"

"Don't worry about it," Nathan said. "Everyone's got a program and they asked me and Luke plenty of questions. We should be fine."

Brooke sighed. "Okay."

"Come on," Haley pulled out her keys, "I'll drop you two off."

* * *

Friday morning Brooke, Jen, and Haley knocked on her brother hotel door. Brian's wife, Nicole, answered.

"Come on, everyone's ready to go already," Jen said. "Tell my brother to get his lazy butt out of bed."

Nicole ignored her. "Thank you so much for this, Brooke," she said. "The kids have been excited about this sleigh ride all week." She turned around and raised her voice. "Tina, Helen, Jimmy Junior, Paige, Damien—"

"Dasher, Prancer, Comet, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph," Jen interjected with a grin.

"—front and center, now!" Nicole finished. She glared playfully at her sister-in-law. "You forgot Dancer, Vixen, and Cupid." She turned to look at Brooke. "Promise me that you'll never marry into a large family, there's always at least one person getting on your nerves."

"I'll do my best," Brooke said.

"Behave, Jen." Haley stared her sister down.

Jen held up her hands in surrender and backed up down the hallway. "Hey, I can say whatever I want because guess who gets stuck with all of the kids when Brian and Nicole want to go out? Me. Moving out to Washington near them was the biggest mistake of my life."

Brian emerged from his room with bleary eyes and rumpled hair. "You moving into our neighborhood had been a disaster of epic proportions."

Nicole laughed and took his arm while their children followed them out like a group of baby ducks. Once they saw their aunt they took off after her as she pretended to run.

"Auntie Jen! Auntie Jen! I wanna ride on the horse!"

"Can you take me to the bathroom?"

"I'm hungry, can you make me some eggs?"

Jen gave them all a big group hug then gestured at her brother. "Why are you asking me? Your parents are right over there."

Haley grinned. Her sister was great with kids, but for some reason hadn't had any of her own and had remained unattached.

"Everyone get downstairs, breakfast is almost over," Brooke said.

They all managed to stuff themselves into one elevator. Once they reached the ground floor they spilled out and made their way to the dining room.

Tina, Brian's oldest daughter, broke from their group when she saw Nathan and sped over to him. He saw her coming and crouched down with his arms wide open. Her enthusiastic greeting nearly bowled him over and he stood up with her in his arms.

Brian rolled his eyes and went to retrieve his child.

Jen put one hand on his arm and smiled. "Tina and Nathan, back together again."

"Yeah, whatever," Brian grumbled.

"Come on, Brian," Haley said, "you're not still jealous, are you? She's only ever going to have one daddy."

"She'd trade me in for Nathan in a second."

Haley laughed as her niece talked to Nathan animatedly and he nodded with an expression of perfect concentration. Even though Haley's family ran up astronomical phone bills talking to each other, it was a little harder to get them all together. They'd managed to get together at least twice a year—it had dwindled to once a year when everyone had started settling down. When people had started having children they could go three to five years a time without seeing each other.

Tina had only met Nathan twice before today, she was seven when she'd seen Nathan for the first time and she'd fallen instantly in love. Incredibly, she'd remembered him when she saw him again two years later when the family had gotten together in Tree Hill for her mother's birthday.

"It looks like nothing's changed," Haley said.

Brian walked up to Nathan and held his hands out to Tina. She climbed into his arms, reluctantly.

"Hey, we've been keeping up with you on ESPN," Brian said. Tina laid her head on her father's shoulder.

"What? You mean you actually caught those five seconds?" Nathan grinned.

Jen ushered the rest of Brian's clan into the dining room along with Brooke while Haley, Nicole, Nathan and Brian kept chatting.

"Don't be modest," Nicole said. "You've improved your stats across the board, especially your field goal percentage. I'm guessing that Lucas is helping you out there, am I right?"

"Yeah," Nathan admitted. "My three-pointers are still looking rough though."

"You definitely need to work on it—but you have good shooters on your team. I'm surprised that you guys haven't brought home a championship yet."

"Trust me, so is our coach."

"Your problem is that you start out the season so strong that you lose steam towards the end. You need to pace yourselves better."

"I don't know about that, hon." Brian shifted Tina in his arms. "Everyone knows that the Gators and the Buckeyes have been powerhouses for the past three seasons."

Nicole shook her head. "Everyone always thinks this team or that team is unbeatable until they aren't."

"How's your team?" Nathan asked. Nicole was a chemistry teacher and an assistant coach for the girls' high school basketball team at Bremington High.

"Good, they working really hard—thank you so much for coming out last year." Nathan had visited Nicole's school when the team had flown out to Washington to play a game.

Nathan shrugged off her thanks.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Tina said.

Brian set her down and took her hand in his. "Okay, sweetie, we're going."

* * *

The morning and afternoon had been a whirlwind of activities and Haley sank onto a bed in Jen's room with her arm thrown over her eyes.

"That bad, huh?" Jen asked.

"I am never having children," Haley moaned.

"Amateur. I have Brian's kids over at my house for entire weekends and you can't handle a couple hours?"

"It was exactly seven hours, twenty-three minutes, and fifteen seconds. Plus it wasn't just Brian's little monsters, Quinn's and Taylor's were both thrown into the mix."

"So you're here with me because I'm the only one with a room to myself?"

Haley lifted her arm a little and peered at her sister. "Exactly."

"So it's not because I'm your favorite sister?"

"That honor belongs to Taylor."

"Are you kidding me? There is nobody in this family that you fight with more."

"She took her kids back to the hotel early so they could have a nap, ergo, she is my favorite."

There was a knock on the door and Brooke walked in, still cool and collected after having to wrangle arrangements for around fifty people—and their children.

"How did you know I was here?" Haley asked.

Brooke gave her a look that clearly said "please."

"Are you about to go to sleep?"

"Why, do you need anything?" Haley sat up on her elbows.

"No, you should get a few hours in." Brooke turned to Jen. "You should too, the bachelorette party's tonight and you're going to want to be well rested for that."

Haley flopped back onto the bed. "As long as I don't have to move for at least two hours, I'm good to go."

Jen hid a yawn behind her hand.

"Oh, is the Incredible Babysitter tired?" Haley asked wickedly.

Brooke smiled. "No arguing. Just get in bed and don't get out until I come back to get you."

Haley saluted Brooke, rolled over, and closed her eyes.

Downstairs Lucas was trying to work up some excitement for the bachelor party.

"Are you ready to have fun tonight?" he asked Mark. "I've got some things planned."

Nathan just looked at his brother skeptically. He loved his brother, truly, but he wasn't really the partying type. He didn't even go to that many parties—how did he expect to be able to organize one?

"Oh, that's not necessary." Mark smiled weakly. "I was just planning on getting some rest before tomorrow."

"I'll try and come up with something interesting for your bachelor party," Lucas said. "You can't just sleep tonight!"

"Yes, yes I can," Mark said wryly.

"We're going to be the only guys there," Nathan said. "Haley's brothers are going to be too tired." Brian and Matt had been effectively abandoned by their significant others and they'd spent the entire day watching the children and trying to be in three places at once. "And Mark's dad is spending the night at the hospital with Parker—and you know we're desperate when we're trying to get the groom's father to come to this thing."

And he had no real desire to be there either. He would have loved to have spent the rest of his night in his room at home.

"You two are going to be down here at eight whether you like it or not," Lucas said.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

* * *

Nathan sat the hotel bar with his brother and Mark, sipping an Amaretto Sour. He'd never had that drink before but he thought that he might try something new.

Lucas, Mark, and Nathan had started their bachelor party early. Nathan looked at the other two men and thought, Calling what we're doing a "party" is stretching the definition of the word. Three men drinking in the hotel bar wasn't really his idea of an exciting time.

"Sorry about this guys," Mark said. "I know that Parker would have put together something more interesting for us to do if he hadn't been knocked out."

"Don't even worry about it," Lucas said. "I'm sure that whatever Brooke has planned isn't that interesting."

"We're talking about Brooke Davis, right?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, we are. But the one thing we can do is to try and drink just enough alcohol to forget that our women will probably be partying with men better looking than we are."

"Here, here." Mark tapped his glass against Lucas' and downed the shot in one gulp.

* * *

"And here," Lucas held up his glass, "is to not having food poisoning. Like Parker. Poor Parker."

Mark hiccupped softly. "Speaking of my brother . . . he's not going to be able to make it to the wedding." He turned to Nathan. "Would you mind filling in for him?"

Nathan stared at Mark blankly, for a moment he thought that he hadn't heard him right.

"Sorry, what was that Mark?"

"I was wondering if you could fill in for my brother. Parker's not going to be able to leave the hospital for at least a week so I'm missing a best man."

For a minute Nathan wondered what would happen if he just took the elevator to the roof of the hotel and jumped off. It would be an end to his misery and it's likely that it would postpone the wedding. Every single time he thought he'd gained some acceptance of the situation, something else happened.

Rolling his eyes at himself and his dramatics he said, "I'm flattered, really, but I think Luke deserves this more than me, he's the one who's been running around getting things done."

"True." Lucas glared playfully at his little brother. "Lazy ass here hasn't done a thing to help."

"Haley keeps talking about how happy she is that everyone could be here for our wedding, especially since things have been so busy that she hasn't seen her friends as much as she would like," Mark said.

"Maybe Parker will get better—"

"I don't think so. Besides, you don't know my brother. He's a unbelievable hypochondriac, he'll probably stay another week if he can."

Nathan could see that Lucas was beginning to wonder why he was so hesitant and he sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to sit through another lecture from him about being more supportive, more available, or more friendly. Luckily Brooke had been too busy to tell him off the way she wanted to, so she sent her man instead. He was here for Haley because he knew she'd be hurt if he didn't come, but that was as far as he wanted to go with this.

"If Nathan doesn't come through then I'm still available," Lucas teased. "I'm really the better man anyway, in more ways than one."

Nathan smiled sourly at his brother and then said to Mark, "Let me think about it, I wouldn't want Parker to think that he's that easily replaced." He'd make up some excuse before the end of the night and have Lucas or someone else step in for him. He really didn't care who it was as long as it wasn't him.

Mark looked a little puzzled at that but just shrugged it off.

* * *

Haley walked through the lobby with her mother, Karen, Deb, her sisters, and two friends. Brooke had sent them downstairs to get into the car that would take them to the bachelorette party—wherever it was. Brooke refused to tell her.

They bumped into Mark and Lucas on their way upstairs. Before Haley could actually look at her fiancé her sister covered her eyes.

"Jen, what are you doing?"

"You can't see Mark the day before the wedding, it's bad luck," she said.

Haley would have rolled her eyes if she could, instead she reached out and felt Mark take her hand.

"What are you guys doing? Are you having fun?"

"Oh, tons," Mark said.

"We're just going upstairs to grab a deck of cards," Lucas said.

"What!" Taylor gasped, trying to hide her grin. "It's like you're a pair of wild animals."

"Ha, ha." Lucas glared at her.

"Do you guys want us to stay and hang out?" Haley asked.

"Don't you dare, Haley," Taylor said. "I've been looking forward to this and you are going to party at least one time before you get married."

"I party," Haley said defensively.

"Partying doesn't involve reading a book." Taylor grabbed Haley's other hand and pulled her out the door while Jen kept her from looking back at Mark.

Lucas snagged his mother before she could leave. "Have you seen Brooke? I need to ask her something."

"She's still upstairs, if you go up to Lydia's room you can probably catch her," Karen said.

* * *

Brooke stepped into the bar and saw Nathan sitting alone.

"Hey, I've got to run, Haley's waiting for me, but I wanted to ask you if you could help make sure that Mark doesn't drink too much tonight and that he gets to the church tomorrow by nine."

"Shouldn't you be asking Lucas to do that? He's the responsible one."

"He's already had too much to drink." It had become obvious to Brooke—when she'd run into Lucas and Mark—that her fiancé was a little too tipsy when he asked her to give them her keys so they could drive down to the local drugstore to buy balloons and party favors.

"Fine," Nathan said colorlessly.

"Mark tells me that you've stepped up as the best man—which is great. It's one less thing I have to worry about."

"What?" Nathan's head snapped up. "When did he tell you that?"

"I just talked to him a minute ago. I was finalizing the seating chart and—"

"Mark told you I was the best man?" Nathan interrupted, his voice rising slightly. "I barely know him, why the hell would he tell you that?"

"I don't know." Brooke was starting to get annoyed. "The same reason women go on dates with you: their choices are limited."

"Find someone else," he snapped. Nathan's sense of humor was completely defunct.

"Why?" Brooke was aware of the assorted family members and friends milling around just a few feet away so she didn't raise her voice, but there was enough venom in her tone to flatten a horse. "You haven't done one goddamn thing to help and all we want is for you to wear your suit and stand next to Mark. Are you telling me that you can't do that?"

Nathan glared at her and opened his mouth to say something—and then shut it. He opened it again and said, "I'm here aren't I?"

"Barely," Brooke hissed. "I will never understand why Haley has such a high opinion of you, you act like a damn teenager. Almost everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong; Karen, your mother, and Haley have been running around like crazy women for the past two weeks. And in the middle of all this she's worried about you!"

Nathan's face fell. "What are you talking about?"

"You've barely spoken to anyone and she's thinks that you don't want to be here. Like you have something else going on that's important. Is that it? Is there some kind of emergency elsewhere that you need to deal with?" Brooke's voice became milder.

Nathan hesitated for a long moment. "No."

The understanding left Brooke's eyes. "So you're bored? You want to go out with your frat buddies and drink?" Nathan thought about pointing out that he didn't belong to a fraternity but decided against it. "Too damn bad. For the next two days you're going to smile and act like a normal human being or I'm going to stick my clipboard up your—"

"I'll do it." Haley deserved to have her day without having to worry about him or anyone else. "You're right, I'm being an ass."

Brooke looked at him with surprise. She felt a little let down, she'd been gearing herself up for a fight and Nathan's quick capitulation took the wind out of her sails.

"Well . . . good." Brooke was genuinely glad Nathan was participating but she couldn't help adding sarcastically, "You've gone above and beyond with all the help that you've given us."

Nathan watched Brooke walk away, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

He couldn't fault her opinion, he'd been completely useless. But watching the final preparations had been harder than he'd realized. His mother had been assembling gift bags to give to the guests and watching her drop little favors and scented soaps into small silver bags had almost destroyed his calm.

As the day approached his awareness of the larger issue—Haley officially being someone's wife—had thankfully faded. But now the most minute events would set off an attack of nerves: seeing the RSVP envelops envelopes arrive, getting a phone call from the minister with a question, or seeing the wedding photographer's business card laying on the kitchen counter.

Each detail was like a pinprick on his skin and as the wedding day approached it felt like his entire body had been worked over with needles. He was bruised and bleeding—but no one could see it.

The best man. God help him.

* * *

_Friday December 20, 2013_

Haley couldn't see a thing through the blindfold that Brooke had tied on her and she was beginning to get a little nervous.

"Are you ready?" Brooke asked.

"I'm sure that I'm not."

She laughed, whipped the blindfold off, and Haley's jaw dropped with amazement. They were in Karen's café but Brooke had completely transformed it.

The walls were covered with red satin, which made the room look like some kind of old-time bordello. Large pillar candles in tall holders were lit in every corner of the room

There was a table set up with food: sinful desserts and aphrodisiacs. Another table was piled with gifts. Her sisters could hardly believe what they were seeing and Brooke gestured to the ring of chairs set up in the center of the room, they were completely white with elaborately carved backs that looked like climbing vines.

"Sit down ladies. We are going to start the night with a little entertainment."

Taylor laughed. Being a mother had really grounded her, but Haley could see the old twinkle in her eyes return and felt a little stab of fear. If Brooke and Taylor joined forces then there was no hope for any of them.

Haley sat down and accepted a plate piled with chocolate-dipped strawberries and a slice of blackout cake. She was about to sample some of the delicious desserts when Brooke shook her head at her.

"That's not for you, Haley."

She looked around at everyone and then back at Brooke. "Who is it for?"

Brooke paused dramatically. "It's for our special guests. I would like to introduce you all to . . . the Thunder From Down Under!"

Music suddenly blared into the room and seven men appeared. They must have been waiting in the kitchen, Haley thought to herself. They were all wearing different costumes; one was dressed like a cowboy, the other in a police uniform. The Village People are here.

Taylor cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Take it off!"

Haley laughed and laughed, covering her face with her hand. One stunning man with deep green eyes and jet-black hair stood in front of her, dancing and gyrating his hips.

Haley held out one strawberry and he ate it from her fingertips, kissing her fingers when he was done.

"Lord have mercy, we are all going to hell," Quinn said. The sentiment didn't stop her from giving a forkful of chocolate cake to her dancer.

Jen couldn't stop giggling and saying "this is so wrong" over and over again.

Haley saw, to her shock, that Karen and Deb were completely at ease. She stared as Karen let her young man draw her to her feet and waltz her around the room.

"I swear, Brooke, sometimes I think you have magic powers. How did you ever put this together?"

Brooke grinned. "I've been planning this from the minute you told us you were engaged. I'm just lucky I was able to get it all together before absolutely everything else went wrong."

Haley hugged her tightly and then laughed when one of the strippers put his arms around them both.

"Share the love ladies," he said.

* * *

Nathan stood in the small room that served as the minister's office, watching people file into the church and take their seats.

After a long and boring night with Mark and Lucas he'd driven back to his mother's house and crashed for the night before getting up the next morning and dragging himself back to church with his brother and Mark in tow.

They were getting dressed upstairs; Karen and Brooke were conferencing behind him.

"The caterer just called," Karen said.

"Let me guess, he's been hit by a meteor," Brooke joked. When Karen didn't laugh she said, "Try and tell me what's wrong in a way that will soften the blow."

"He told me that he's going to be late and that he's not sure he'll be able to make it at all. And you're looking beautiful today."

Brooke rubbed her forehead. "Gimmie the phone." Brooke dialed the number and waited for the man on the other end to pick up. "You listen to me. If you don't get down here by two, I'm going to talk to every single woman and every single wedding planner I know and tell them that you completely ruined this wedding. Then I'm going to sue you for four times the fee you're charging us, because I had you sign a contract, remember?" Brooke nodded at whatever the man was saying. "Yeah . . . yeah. Thank you."

Brooke turned to Karen. "He'll be here by noon."

* * *

Brooke sighed to herself. In a couple hours Haley would be safely married to Mark and they could all relax and take a couple years to recover.

Lucas walked up behind her and hugged her. "The church looks amazing, Brooke. It's so beautiful."

Brooke sighed and leaned back against him. "Thank you."

"I can't believe all the work you did."

"Trust me, I had some serious help. Without your mom, Deb, and Lydia I would have pulled all my hair out."

"You want me to take care of the planning for our wedding?" Lucas asked.

"I am more convinced than ever that we are not having a big ceremony. With our luck someone will probably drop dead on the altar."

Lucas laughed but inwardly he winced and reached out one hand so he could knock surreptitiously on the wood paneling that covered the walls.

"It's time, why don't you go down and stand with the guys while I go check on Haley."

Lucas gave her a quick kiss and left.

* * *

Nathan looked at the rising where Haley's sisters were standing. He had to hand it to Brooke, she knew her stuff, they looked stunning. He hadn't given much thought to all the preparation work that she'd done for this wedding. He'd been trying very hard not to think, at all. He hadn't talked to Katie in days and he was thinking about her a lot lately. About her and a lot of other things, his mind kept jumping around. Probably so he could avoid reflecting too deeply about any one thing.

Mark was standing in front of him and Lucas was right behind him. He watched Mark readjust his tie and he suddenly felt like his own was too tight.

Lucas watched his brother with a little concern as he readjusted his tie for the third time. Nathan had been a little on edge all week—like he'd been-but he'd seemed to start taking things a little easier once all the James' had arrived.

"Relax, man. You're beginning to make me feel nervous," Lucas said as looked out at the faces in the church, the talking had started to die down and there was an expectant hush falling over the crowd.

"I just can't believe that today's the day."

"I don't either Nate. I have to say that I'm a little upset that I'm not the best man."

"Hey," Nathan had that smirk on his face that always made Lucas want to punch him in the gut, "I really had no say in it. You know I don't control who's picked for the wedding party."

Lucas snorted. "Don't think I didn't notice your part in it though."

"Hey, if you could've been the maid of honor I'm sure Haley would have made you one. It's not to late to ask her sister to step down and give you the privilege."

Lucas thought that his brother seemed more at ease and went on distracting him. "I would have made a great best man, you're the one who probably demoted me."

"Look, being a groomsman is an key part, you should feel . . . special."

"Whatever."

Lucas studied Nathan-he didn't seem worried anymore. In fact, his brother looked calmer than he was feeling at the moment.

Haley's brothers hadn't arrived until two days before the wedding and they'd all been so busy with the rehearsal dinner, last-minute arrangements, and all of the family activities Brooke had crammed into their schedule yesterday that none of them had had a chance to have "The Talk" with Mark.

He'd meant to pull Mark aside but he forgotten it in the middle of all things he'd had to do.

Lucas had been debating whether he should use the more hard-line "if you ever hurt her I'll snap your spine in half" conversation or the more brotherly "marriage is a difficult journey" discussion, but he supposed it was too late. They were at the eleventh hour; the organist had sat down at her bench and started to play.

He watched his best friend walk down the aisle with her father and stood up straighter. He thought about the time when it used to be just him and Haley; now she was getting married and soon it'd be his turn. As she made her way towards them, he knew that nothing would be the same.

* * *

The reception was in the building next door, and the guests walked along a covered path: a series of canopies with white Christmas lights wrapped around their poles led from the church to the hall. The snow was just beginning to fall, there were only a few flakes drifting in the air, and it created a beautiful atmosphere as they reflected the light.

Haley and Mark led the way, the wedding party and the guests trailed behind. As Haley stepped inside she could hear soft R&B music in the background. The tables were set up with rose centerpieces and waiters were setting down plates of food and drinks on snow-white tablecloths as everyone took their seats.

Haley sat down at the head table with Mark and glanced around her. A festive spirit had infected the mood and she felt the wedding anxiety that had followed her all week finally fade away.

Lucas was sitting next to her and she leaned over and gave him a one armed hug.

"We did it Hales," he said softly.

"Yeah we did."

"Listen, you know how Nathan was the best man . . ."

Haley laughed. "You're my best man, so I suppose that means you and your brother can share the title."

Lucas grinned. "So that means that I can make the speech, right?"

Haley shook her head slowly. "You two would compete over anything."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Lucas stood up and tapped his champagne glass with his knife. All the guests quieted down and he looked at Haley once before facing the crowd.

"I'd just like to wish Haley and Mark the best."

People clapped and raised their glasses. Nathan, who'd been making his way towards his seat, stood in an inconspicuous spot near the wall. As his brother went on he breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that it wasn't him standing up there.

"I've known Haley practically my whole life, and I'm glad that she's found someone who can help her be happy. I'm a little upset that I'm going to have to actually like Mark now," Lucas paused as everyone laughed, "but he's not that bad, so I suppose I can put up with him. I'm not married yet so there isn't really any great advice that I can give you, but I will say that honesty is always great-"

"Yeah, right!" someone in the crowed yelled.

"_Honesty_," Lucas glared, "patience, a willingness to admit when you're wrong, generosity, and love. As long as one of you has those qualities you'll be all right. And since Mark has all those traits I guess Haley's got nothing to worry about."

Everyone roared as Haley stood up and hit Lucas on the arm before hugging him.

* * *

As Lucas danced with Brooke he could see that she was feeling incredible. She'd changed out of the dress gown that she'd worn at the ceremony into a simple white dress that flowed with every movement.

Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck; he held her tightly around the waist and whirled her in a circle.

"I feel like ten tons have been lifted off my back," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Definitely. All I want to do now is dance, drink, and later on tonight we are going to get naked and stay naked for at least two days."

"Oh, now you want to get naked?" Lucas pulled back a little but kept his arms around her. "I couldn't get naked time this week to save my life."

Brooke laughed. "That was for your own good-I've been so frustrated that I might have accidentally hurt you."

Lucas waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Why don't you hurt me right now?"

Haley was waltzing with Mark, which was a little strange since the DJ was playing pop songs, but she went with it. He was a great dancer and handled her expertly.

"Where did you learn how to do this?" she asked.

"My mother forced me and Parker to take dance classes. She was punishing us both for stealing my father's briefcase and dropping off the roof of our high rise."

Haley laughed. "You did that?"

"It was all Parker's idea, but I got in trouble anyway."

"Remind me to thank your mother."

"Hey, can I cut in?" Jimmy asked.

"Sure, Dad." Haley smiled.

Nathan saw Mark making his way back to their table took a drink and got up. After dinner he'd danced with all of Haley's nieces, her sisters, her mother, a few other in-laws, and he was completely beat. His teammates would be laughing their asses off if they could see how worn out the guy who could party all night had become.

But he was done and thankfully he could finally slip out without too much fuss.

* * *

Brooke sat down to rest and took a sip of her water. She glanced around the room, everyone looked like they were having a great time. Haley's brothers and sisters were all out on the dance floor, their kids had finally been tired out and had gone upstairs with the babysitter.

Keith and Karen were laughing over something Deb had told them. Jimmy and Lydia were dancing with each other and Brooke hoped that she and Lucas would be grinding on each other like that after they'd been married as long as those two had.

Mark's parents were over in their own corner, talking. But where were Mark and Haley?

She looked around and near the exit doors she saw Nathan hugging Haley. She smiled and turned back to look at her fiancé, he was trying to start up the electric slide on the dance floor and she rolled her eyes.

When she towards the door again she saw Nathan putting on his coat and walking out the door.

She glanced at her watch, frowned, and rose halfway out of her seat. She was about to walk over and ask him why he was leaving so early but then brought herself up short. This is not my problem, she thought. She sat back down and pulled her clipboard out from under her chair, got up, and tossed it into a large garbage can.

* * *

"Have you talked to Mark yet?" Diane said to her husband.

"No, lets wait until they get back from their honeymoon before we tell them that we're definitely moving back to New York."

"I am so excited about this," Diane smiled, "I swear I feel like I was wasting away in Montana."

"What? I thought you liked it there."

"I did for the first few years but I'm ready for a change."

"Hmm." Paul looked over at Haley and Mark. "Don't they look great together?"

"They do make a beautiful couple." Diane leaned her head against her husband's shoulder. "I can't wait to send our friends the photos."

Paul glanced at his watch. "I'd better call Dominick and tell him that he's not going to have to start up the new branch in New York on his own."

"Let's ignore the business for one night, call him in the morning."

* * *

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride."

Husband and wife. The minister's words rang in his ears as Nathan stared out of his windshield, remembering the last night that he spent watching movies and eating popcorn with Haley. He'd barely been able to spend any real time with her since, he was busy with school and the game, and she was getting ready for the wedding. Had been getting ready for the wedding.

The sky was starting to lighten, how long had he been sitting here? He got out of the car and crashed in his old room. He'd been able to get through the past couple months with a combination of wishful thinking and deep denial but he couldn't fool himself anymore.

Nathan shut his eyes and tried to drift off but after an hour of tossing and turning he gave up and stared at his ceiling.

It was time for him to really be on his own. When he'd left for Duke the first time it hadn't really felt like a separation, more like a natural extension of his life in Tree Hill-but that was over.

Suddenly he really wanted to call Katie and hear her voice. He glanced at the clock on the table, saw that it was nearly five in the morning, and decided against it. He'd call her when he got back to his dorm. Knowing that he had a long drive ahead of him, he finally forced himself to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17 Settling In

**Chapter 17 Settling In**

_December 27, 2013_

India was beautiful. She and Mark had spent an amazing three days in Trivandrum. She'd dragged him along with her to all the sights and even though she knew that he would have liked to just stay in their hotel room he submitted to her determination to see as much of the city as possible with good grace.

The ship they were on began to turn back to the shore and Haley lifted her hair up off the back of her neck to cool off. Mark kissed her nape and she smiled.

"I can't believe that we came from snow into this." Haley grabbed a drink and pressed it to her forehead. "I feel like I'm overdressed when I wear a t-shirt."

"If you want to strip down that's fine with me." Mark laid out on one of the deck chairs.

"Maybe later." Haley took a long drink and sighed. "I just wish that everyone could've come with us."

"I don't." Mark slid on his sunglasses and admired Haley from behind. "I like having you to myself."

Haley sat on his lap and kissed him. Mark ran his hand up her back, easing his fingers underneath the straps of her bikini. They heard a clicking sound and the both looked up to see a smiling photographer.

"You two look so beautiful together, would you like to buy a photo?" he asked.

Haley grinned. "How much?"

* * *

_January 5, 2014_

Deb's doorbell rang and when she opened it she laughed a little with surprise.

"Haley, what are you doing here?" She hugged the young woman tightly and Haley shifted the box she had in her arms around so that she could return the embrace.

"I had to come back to pick up some things from my house and since you're on the way I thought I'd stop by."

"Is Mark with you?"

Haley shook her head. "He's waiting for me at the airport, we just managed to get a flight to New York that stopped over here."

"What am I doing making you stand in the doorway? Come in."

"Thanks, but I've got about three hours to get back so I can't stay long."

"How was India?" Deb asked.

"It was so beautiful, I must have taken a million pictures."

"Show me."

They both walked inside and Haley set down her box and pulled out her album. As she opened it a few pictures fell out and they both knelt down to pick them up.

Deb turned one of them over and saw Haley and Mark with their arms wrapped around each other. They looked tan, healthy and happy. The scene behind them was stunning, the setting sun made them look like they were glowing and the water threw off sparks of light.

"This shot is incredible." Deb flipped the photo around so Haley could see which one she was looking at.

"Oh," Haley smiled, "we had so much fun on that day."

"I almost wish I could keep this one for myself."

"It's yours."

"Haley, no—"

"I got doubles of everything. God, Deb, it was so beautiful, I wish you could have been there."

"Me too."

"How's everyone? How was Christmas?"

"It was great, Nathan came back down and Karen made us eat until we were sick."

"Sounds good," Haley said wistfully. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here."

"Next year you and Mark might have all of us descending on New York for the holidays."

Haley grabbed Deb's hands. "That is a great idea! Matt and Barb can celebrate their baby's first Christmas with us. "

Deb blinked. "Their baby?"

"Oh crap. They didn't tell anyone yet?"

"Barb's pregnant?"

"You can't tell anyone." Haley held Deb's gaze. "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"Do they know if it's a boy or a girl?" Deb asked excitedly.

"Deb!"

"Okay, okay. No baby talk."

"Thanks. I've got to run, I'll call everyone when we land in New York."

* * *

"Mom?" Nathan walked into Deb's house, saw the pictures in his mother's living room and smiled.

She'd had redecorated in the short time he'd been gone. Before there had been maybe six pictures sitting on the small side table in the entrance. But now there was a whole wall dedicated to family photos. Nathan counted no fewer than fifty frames. A lot of them had him, Lucas, and Haley in them. One of them screaming and laughing on a roller coaster on the day Lucas and Haley had taken him to an amusement park; another with the three of them sitting in Karen's café, eating burgers; and another with the three of them sitting around a fire when Lucas had taken them all camping and showed him how to fish. Nathan grinned. He'd hated every minute of it and everything about it. The bugs, cleaning fish, and sleeping on the ground.

"Nate." Deb came out of the living room and gave her son a hug. "What do you think?"

"It's great, Mom. What made you decide to do it?"

"I was just cleaning out some things and I found a box full of old photos. I didn't just want to keep them in there or stuff them in an album so I thought I'd put them on display."

"It's really beautiful." Nathan glanced to the side and frowned. "Why is Dad on the wall?"

Deb turned and looked at the photo of a four-year-old Nathan holding a toy basketball in his hands. Dan was holding his son up to the basket so he could throw it in, and they were both laughing.

Deb thought hard before answering. "How I feel about your father now is no secret, honey, but it wasn't always bad. We had a good beginning. Your father loves you Nathan, he just . . . sucks at showing it."

Nathan studied the Dan's face with a set expression before shrugging it off. He saw another picture frame in his mother's hands.

"Are you adding to your collection?"

"Yep, it's becoming an obsession. The next time you come here all the walls might be covered with pictures." Deb held out the photo so he could see it and Nathan tilted his head to the side. It was Mark and Haley. He was kissing her. His eyes moved over Mark's hand—which was sliding up Haley's back. He blinked, took a deep breath, and then looked up at his mother's smile.

"Don't they look incredible?" Deb shook her head. "I forgot to tell you, Haley stopped by a few weeks ago and let me keep this. Looking at it makes me wish I could have done more traveling."

Nathan quickly looked away from the photo and smiled at his mother. "You still can."

"Maybe someday."

As Nathan got in his car he resolved to make an effort to stay busy. He'd told himself that he was leaving Tree Hill behind, so it was time that he really made the most of that resolution after he was done with this visit. Durham was his home now.

* * *

Cooper had been Nathan's hero when he'd been younger but—like most of his mother's family—he couldn't stand Dan so he'd been more distant than he'd wanted to be with his nephew.

After Deb had gotten divorced the little restraint that he'd shown when talking about his brother-in-law had left him completely. Nathan didn't think that Cooper had used his father's given name in years—his favorite nickname seemed to be "toad-sucking bastard."

Deb hugged her little brother as he walked up the driveway. Seeing Cooper always brought out the playful side of her that she'd thought she'd lost with her divorce.

"Hey! Sis, at least wait until I get in the house." Cooper grinned.

"Why don't you come see me more often?" Deb demanded.

"Why don't you come down and see me race?"

"You know I can't watch you do that." She led the way inside.

"I can't believe you let one little crash scare you away."

"They took you off the track in a helicopter!"

"It was a scratch," Cooper dismissed.

That "scratch" had put Cooper in the hospital for months while doctors fixed the leg he'd broken in three places. When they'd brought him out of the wreckage Deb had seen the condition he'd been in. Since then she flat out refused to watch him race. She could barely stand to see him get behind the wheel of his Ford.

"Where's my nephew?"

"Out picking up some of the junk I know you love to eat."

"You see, this is how I know you love me."

Deb rolled her eyes. "I think that me putting up with you is proof enough of that. Listen, thanks for coming up. Nathan's been so withdrawn lately, he barely comes down to see me anymore. Maybe you can cheer him up a little."

"Come on, Debbie. Your boy had to leave the nest sometime. You held onto him longer than most moms do. I was pretty much out the door by the time I was seventeen."

"Yeah, that was a real treat for Mom—and don't call me Debbie, you know I hate that name. I still can't believe that you didn't take advantage of the scholarship that you had."

"Here we go. Are you going to lecture me now about not going to college?"

"Nope, I accepted the fact that you didn't want to be a responsible adult years ago."

"As long as you've come to terms with it. Hey, maybe I can take Nathan down to the track and have him—"

"No, no, no."

"Deb, there wouldn't be any other cars racing with him. It would just be him driving in a circle. But I'm sure he'd love it and you said you wanted him to lighten up."

"I don't know . . ."

"I'm sure he's done more dangerous driving on the freeway."

Deb hesitated before relenting. "Fine."

* * *

"Uncle Cooper." Nathan gave him a hug and Cooper pounded him hard on the back. After Nathan was finished coughing he turned to his mom. "I got everything on the list."

Deb took the take-out and grocery bags out of Nathan's arms. "Thanks honey. Why don't you two go do your guy stuff? I can put these away."

"Guy stuff?" Cooper asked. "What would that be?"

"I have no idea. Which is why I call it 'guy stuff.'" Deb smiled at her son and walked out of the living room.

"So, I've been hearing great things from your mom about your team."

"Yeah, if we win the next two games we are definitely going into the championships."

"Sweet."

"Things are good."

"So I was thinking, unless you're too busy being a basketball star, that you could come down with me to the racetrack and hang with your uncle."

"Are you kidding? Sure."

* * *

"Nate, you seem a little distracted." Cooper looked up from the car engine and looked over at him.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, but I don't want to let you get on this track if you're not focused."

"I just . . . have a lot on my mind."

"What is it? Is your girlfriend driving you crazy? I can relate, I love Erin but sometimes she's the most infuriating woman on the planet."

"No. No, Katie's great. We're fine."

"So?" Cooper was careful to look at the engine and not at Nathan. "Hand me that wrench."

Nathan gave Cooper the tool and leaned against the side of the car. "I just . . . sometimes I wonder if things are going to happen for me, you know? I used to be so sure about what I wanted and now I don't even know."

"Are you talking about basketball?"

"I'm talking about everything. My dad practically had my whole life mapped out by the time that I was ten, and so far everything's going according to plan. And I just keep thinking, is this what the rest of my life is going to be?"

"I thought you loved to play."

"I did, I do. It's stupid."

"No, come on, tell me."

"It's just that I wake up some days and wonder, what's the damn point? Do I want this because of me, or because of what my dad told me?"

"I can't answer that question for you, Nate. I wish I could. Look, I left home so I could be, basically, a water boy for a pit crew because I knew I wanted to race. My mom and your mom flipped the hell out and I don't think they've forgiven me for it to this day."

Nathan smiled. "My mom collects all the newspaper and magazine articles that you're in and keeps them in a scrapbook."

Cooper looked surprised. "What?"

"You didn't know? She makes me print out everything I can find online so she can include that stuff too."

"Oh." Cooper was silent for a long time before returning to his train of thought. "Even though I knew what I wanted to do, hardly anything has gone according to plan. Sometimes you've just got to roll with the fact that you might end up in a different place than you thought. I never pictured myself with a librarian, for god's sake, but here I am, stuck on her after two years."

"She's definitely out of your league," Nathan teased.

"Tell me about it. She's not impressed by my superstar status at all."

"Superstar status? What are you, Dale Ernhardt?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"So, Nathan," Deb placed the salad bowl on the table and sat down next to her brother, "how did it go?"

"Hold up," Cooper said. "Did you make this salad?"

"So what if I did?"

Cooper took one cautious bite before using the salad tongs to scoop more of it on his plate.

"Never mind, Sis."

Nathan smiled. "It was great, Mom."

"He told me that you collect newspaper articles about me." Cooper looked at Deb. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you did that?"

"I . . . I don't know. I was worried that if you knew that you'd think that I didn't really want you to quit."

"Trust me, I would never think that," Cooper said with weary fondness. "But you do? Really?"

"I think the whole thing is too dangerous . . . but I can see that you're good at it and that makes me really proud," Deb muttered.

Cooper grinned widely and Nathan could see that he was genuinely pleased. "Thanks, Debbie."

Deb gave him a glare for using that hated nickname but continued on without mentioning it. "Anyway, I got a call from Brooke and Lucas this morning."

"What'd they say?" Nathan asked.

"Brooke promised to bring me back something from a fancy New York shop." Deb smiled. "She is on the shopping spree of a lifetime and Lucas is just trying to stay calm. He thinks that Brooke's going to spend so much that they'll have to take out a second mortgage on the house they're planning on getting."

Cooper laughed. "I still can't believe that Lucas is actually getting married to a shopaholic. He's got to be the thriftiest person I've ever met."

"Trust me, Brooke has a way of persuading people," Nathan said.

"And Lucas told me that they didn't get to see as much of Haley as they would like, she and Mark are still so busy."

"Busy?" Cooper's eyebrows rose as he looked at his sister while Nathan fell silent. "Newlyweds should only be busy doing one thing."

"Cooper," Deb said repressively. "They'll be back next week, Nate, maybe you could come down for the weekend so we can all have dinner?"

"Sorry, Mom, I'm going to be practicing. I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"So do you think that you'll finally win this year?" Cooper asked.

Nathan gave his uncle a confident smile. "We will if I have anything to do with it."

* * *

Karen answered the knock at her door and smiled when she saw Keith.

"What are you doing here?" She kissed him briefly on the cheek.

"I thought you might want some company with Lucas and Brooke off on their trip."

"It is really quiet." Karen turned and walked back into her kitchen. "And I've got all this extra food, I'm just not used to cooking for myself."

He looked down at the prime rib on the table and grinned at her. "I haven't had any dinner yet."

"Sit down, please." Karen grabbed two glasses and sat down at the kitchen table with him.

Keith took a bite of his mashed potatoes and closed his eyes in ecstasy. "I swear that you've put something in here that's got to be illegal to make it this good."

Karen laughed. "You caught me. I slipped some real butter in them instead of margarine."

"Remember that time when Lucas picked up his bowl and dumped the whole thing on his own head?"

"Lord, don't remind me," Karen groaned. "I think I was picking potatoes out of his hair for a month."

"And now he's engaged to be married and he might have his own messy kids soon."

"I can hardly believe it. Sometimes I feel like I just brought him home from the hospital."

"I know what you mean. Time just sped up for all of us, I didn't think that so many years could go by without me really noticing."

"You're talking like we have one foot in the grave."

"No," Keith laughed. "I'm not feeling _that_ morbid. It's just that sometimes I wonder where all the time went." Keith smiled at her. "Karen, do you want to go the new play showing at the Pantages Theater?"

"Yes, I've been dying to see it. So has Deb, we should make it night and all go out to dinner or something."

Keith looked a little surprised but smiled. "Sure."

* * *

_February 20, 2014  
_

As Nathan left the gym, still sweating from practice, his phone rang.

"Hey, Nate, are you almost done?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, I'm heading out right now. What's up?"

"I thought I'd pick up some pasta from Felluchio's, maybe some fettuccini alfredo?"

"That sounds good, but I can't eat anything that even looks like junk food right now."

"So, fettuccini for me and a boring chicken salad for you."

"I love the way you make it sound so tasty," Nathan said.

"I'll see you when you get home."

"Bye."

His phone rang again and Nathan looked at the name flashing across the screen of his cell and closed his eyes briefly before pressing the talk button.

"So we're coming down for the big game," Haley said excitedly.

Nathan smiled. "That's great." He was a little anxious about it, this would be the first time that he'd seen her since she'd gotten married. But Cooper was right, just because his life wasn't what he'd expected it to be didn't mean that he should dwell on it like his father had. The man was bitterness personified.

"And I'll finally be able to meet the mysterious Katie."

"Mysterious?"

"From what everyone says, she's only been spotted once, even though you two have apparently been dating all this time."

"Well, she's excited to see everyone again, too. You'll love her, she's really great."

"I'm sure."

"We're the same age, but she's already a junior. Much smarter than I'll ever be. I'm being forced to become more cultured to keep up."

"You're kidding."

"Haley James, you are talking to a man who's been to more art galleries, operas, plays, and musicals in the last year than I've been to in my entire life."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Haley said. She and Lucas had tried and failed to get Nathan to have more than a cursory interest in the arts, especially literature—which they both loved. "I've got to go pack, I'll see you in a couple days."

"Can't wait."

* * *

Haley glanced at her watch as she tried to get inside Cameron Stadium. She barely noticed the crush of people and scanned the crowd for the familiar faces of her best friend and his fiancé.

She glanced up at the tier numbers and bit her lip. She wasn't sure if this was the place where she'd told Lucas that she'd meet him.

"Haley!"

She turned to see Brooke and Lucas making their way towards her through the crowd. Haley hugged him hard and laughed as he picked her up off the floor before turning to Brooke to embrace her as well.

"I should be so mad at you Tutor Wife, I haven't had a chance to see you in months and we've barely talked." Brooke glared at her.

"I'm sorry," Haley looped an arm through hers. "But you know that everything's been crazy from the moment we got back from India. Mark's jumped right into trying to expand his family's business."

"Where is Mark?" Lucas asked.

"He's having an affair with his calculator."

Lucas laughed but Brooke frowned. "I don't think I've even talked to Mark since you two got married, is he working a little too hard?"

"He's definitely working too hard," Haley sighed. "But he's a workaholic, like me. Every little detail has to be perfect so . . ." Haley shrugged.

"Anyway, we're in section nineteen! Can you believe it?" Lucas grinned.

Off of Brooke's blank look Haley explained, "We're practically on the court, there are people here who'd probably kidnap us and ransom us off for the seats we got."

Brooke nodded appreciatively. "That's great. Hey, you'll finally get a chance to meet Katie, the last time I met her she seemed normal. How Nathan convinced her to date him is beyond me."

"Brooke," Lucas said.

"Kidding!" She smiled.

"What's she like?" Haley asked.

"We didn't get a chance to talk that much, I only met her once. But I'm going to try and learn more about her today. And maybe tell her a few things about Nathan."

Lucas gave her a look. "Be nice, Brooke."

"I'm always nice." Brooke smile would have looked innocent to anyone who didn't know her.

The three of them walked up the stairs and looked around. Brooke glanced down. "I think that's Katie." Brooke waved and the pretty brown-haired girl waved back.

"Hey," Katie said.

Brooke grinned with relief. "I was afraid that we'd never find you in this crowd."

"I swear I think I've seen a couple of your twins roaming around, I must have waved to five strangers."

"Hi, nice to see you again." Lucas held out his hand and Katie shook it. "I don't think that you've met Haley."

"No I haven't." Katie gave Haley a friendly smile.

"I hope Nathan hasn't been telling you terrible things about me," Haley said.

"Nothing bad, I promise."

"How you managed to get in here with these crazy Devils fans all around is a miracle." Brooke sat down. "Now I remember why I never came to any of the games."

Lucas shook his head at Brooke and laughed. "Sometimes it's like we're from two different worlds."

"Where's everyone else?" Haley asked Lucas.

"They should be here soon, I talked to my mom right before we left, she's riding with Deb and Keith."

* * *

Their seats were incredible, she had no idea how Nathan had managed to get them for everyone but she was so grateful. They were so close to the player's bench that she could read the expression on Nathan's face when the opposing team managed to slam home a basket, right in the face of their center.

Nathan felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck and locked away the urge to turn and look behind him. He knew that Haley was here, and he wanted to turn around and give her a wink or nod. It's what he'd done for every single game that she'd ever attended in high school. He knew that his family thought he was acknowledging them all, but it was for her.

Haley felt the excitement rise in her throat as Nathan finally got onto the court. He managed to save the ball from going out of bounds, throwing a quick pass to a teammate before running up the court. She could see the moment when things clicked into place, and was the only one who wasn't surprised when Nathan received the ball and sunk the fadeaway jumper.

He was so meticulous and disciplined with his training that it was a pleasure to watch the slow improvement of his skills; it was a shock to see how far he'd come since the last time she'd seen him play. The coaching staff had obviously worked hard to improve his defensive skills.

Over the years she'd come to recognize when there was something in the air, she wasn't sure if it was a look in Nathan's eyes or the expression on his face, but she knew when he entered the state of mind where the world narrowed to him, the other players, and the ball. She called it his "game face" and he had it on now.

* * *

Haley frowned as she watched Nathan sit on the bench, resting. The game had been incredibly close, neither team had been able to maintain a decisive lead and now they were down to the last minute.

They had the seniors out on the court now; Nathan was riding the bench. She could tell that Nathan was itching to get his hands on the ball. A Devils player got off a jump shot, it rolled around the rim before finally falling in.

The crowd surged to their feet, their cheers rocking the stadium. When the player who'd scored the basket came back down, somehow his ankle twisted under him and he staggered before one of his teammates caught his arm. Haley watched worriedly as he limped off to the side.

Virginia managed to widen their lead over the next fifteen minutes by ten points. And everyone could see the Devils coaching staff was becoming more and more tense.

There was heated discussion between the coach and one of his assistants, and then suddenly Nathan was standing up and pulling off his warm-ups. Haley grinned as he took his place on the floor for the last five minutes of the game.

Nathan moved up the court like he was born to do it . Haley watched, completely focused on how he handled the ball.

He'd become a better player, for himself and his team, setting up assists and nailing the perimeter shots. He'd been slightly selfish in high school, focusing only on getting the most points and the best plays for himself. Dan's influence, she supposed. But he seemed to have shed that persona completely.

Nathan and his team managed to close the gap to a two point deficit as the last seconds ticked off the clock. Haley saw Todd, one of the Devils best shooters put the ball up from half-court . . . but it didn't go in. Nathan rushed towards the basket to grab the rebound and a Virginia player checked him hard and knocked him to the floor.

Haley and more than nine thousand Devils fans held a collective breath, waiting for the ref to call a foul so that they could get their free throws and force Virginia into overtime.

The referee didn't call the foul and Haley looked at her family and Katie. They all had identical looks of shock on their faces. None of the fans could believe it, but the Devils lost to Virginia 81 to 79.

"What an idiot! Can you believe this?" Deb shouted over the noise of the crowd.

"No!" Haley yelled.

"Tell me that didn't just happen!" Lucas said to Keith.

Karen shook her head incredulously and then leaned over to them. "Katie just told me that she can get us downstairs so we can meet up with Nathan."

"Yeah, he's probably going to need someone to talk to about that goddamn foul. What the hell! That damn ref! I've heard that he calls loose games but this is fucking ridiculous!" Lucas looked like he wanted to go down to the floor and knock heads together.

Keith's normally calm expression reflected his annoyance. "As crazy as these fans are I'm surprised there isn't a riot going on right now."

Haley put an arm around Lucas. "Everything's going to be okay. Why don't you guys go ahead and I'll meet you there. I've got to use the bathroom." Haley slung her purse over her shoulder.

* * *

Nathan looked up to where his family had been but the only one still standing there was Lucas, and he could tell he was pissed off, even from where he was. He supposed he should be too—and was a little surprised that he wasn't—but he knew he'd played a good game. He should be angrier, his team had clearly been robbed. There was a time when he would have yelled at one of his teammates or gone out and done something stupid, but now he just felt a mild sense of disappointment. He was just glad that Haley and his family had been there to watch him play.

Now that the game was over and his mind didn't have to focus on it anymore, he kept thinking about how strange it was to see Katie and Haley sitting next to each other. He pushed the thought away. What difference did it make?

He made his way to the locker room. They were probably all on their way down.

"Nathan!"

He turned and saw his mother coming towards him and smiled. "Mom!"

Trailing behind her were Katie, Brooke, Karen, and Keith. They all pounded him on the back and offered their sympathy.

Nathan leaned down and kissed Katie quickly on the lips, holding her carefully so he wouldn't mess up her clothes. "Thanks for coming you guys."

Lucas finally appeared. "Not bad little brother, not bad."

"Thanks." Nathan looked around for Haley.

"So does this mean that Duke's going to have to depend on an at-large bid to get into the championship?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, it does," Lucas gritted out.

"Try not to think about it," Deb said. "We're going to head home, I'm sure you want to go out and hang out with your friends Nathan."

"Or get drunk and curse out those sh—"

"Lucas," Karen said, glaring her son into silence.

He rolled his eyes but shut up, folding his arms angrily. Nathan smiled slightly, amused that Luke could still be brought in line by his mother with one word.

"I was thinking we could all go out to dinner." Nathan's gaze moved over the crowd again. "My treat?"

"I'm definitely not paying," Brooke said.

"What a shock," Nathan said dryly. "I'll meet you guys outside after I hit the showers."

"You were awesome, baby," Katie said.

He kissed her once more.

"Do you want to ride with us, sweetie?" Karen asked her.

"Sure."

As they all walked away, Nathan caught his brother's arm. "Where's Haley?"

"Oh, crap. She was supposed to meet us down here. I'll call her on her cell and have her meet us."

"Maybe you should go look for her."

"She's fine, don't worry. I'll go get her."

Nathan watched his brother disappear into the press of people. He looked around but couldn't spot Haley in the milling crowd. Ignoring the questions from his teammates, Nathan made his way back to the court and looked up at the last place that he'd seen Haley. She was gone. He felt his breathing quicken as he turned around twice but he still didn't see her.

Nathan rushed through the locker room and out the doors into the hallway where the crowd was. He didn't even see the girls who smiled at him flirtatiously.

"Nathan!" He heard her shout behind him.

He whirled and wrapped her in his arms. She didn't seem to care that he was soaked with sweat and she hugged him tightly and laughed. "I can't believe this! You've worked so hard—and you were awesome tonight by the way—"

"Haley," he interrupted.

Haley fell silent when she heard his tone. "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you stay with everyone else?"

"Well, we got separated and the line to the ladies' room was just ridiculous. But I didn't want to leave before seeing you, I was so excited that I just thought I should come down."

"You shouldn't be on your own," Nathan said harshly, "you need to be more careful."

A look of annoyance was growing on Haley's face and then she realized something and she was calm again.

"You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself." Haley opened her purse and pulled out a small container of pepper spray. "I never leave home without it."

He felt the corner of his lip twitch up in a small smile.

Nathan was still the only person who knew about what had happened with Chad. She'd gone on to press charges—not because she wanted to but because she didn't want what had happened to her to happen again. Unfortunately Chad came from money and the lawyer he'd been able to afford had gotten him off with a slap on the wrist. Nathan had been so furious that she was afraid that he'd go after the guy on his own.

"Come on." Nathan pulled her behind him and made his way back to the locker room.

"I can wait outside for you, there's plenty of security . . ."

"No, you're coming with me."

"Come on, Nate. Your coaches aren't going to let me in there, and do you really want me to be standing next to your naked friends?"

He stopped. "I guess not."

"Don't worry so much."

What Haley had said before finally registered. "Wait, what do you mean that you didn't want to leave before seeing me?"

"I've got to fly back to New York in an hour."

"What? We're all going out to dinner."

"I'm so sorry, Nathan. Mark wants me back so I can help him with this huge presentation that he has tomorrow. I practically had to threaten his life to come down here for the game."

"Haley, I don't . . ." Nathan started to protest but then he thought about what Cooper had said. "I'm glad you could be here."

"Me, too. Say goodbye to everyone for me?"

"I will."

Haley hugged him and turned to disappear out of his life, again.

* * *

Katie and Nathan walked down the hallway of the airport, while she went on and on about the dinner they'd had with his family.

"It was really nice seeing everyone again," Katie said. "And your brother is just the sweetest guy, he and Brooke seem so happy . . ."

Nathan smiled and nodded but he wasn't really paying attention, he'd heard it all before. Even though it had been a week, Katie was still excited over how well everything had gone after the game. She and Deb and Lucas had really had a good time, there hadn't been any of that awkwardness that sometimes arises when introducing a new person to old friends and family.

". . . so many stories. I really wish that I could have had a chance to talk to Haley to see if they're true."

"What?" Nathan suddenly focused on Katie. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I was just saying that Lucas told me so many stories. He says that if I want to know about the really bad trouble you used to get into that I should talk to Haley." Katie grinned up at him. "I can't imagine you as a troublemaker."

Nathan shook his head slowly. "I used to be one. Just ask my mother."

They stopped in front of the baggage claim turnstile and watched the luggage go around and around.

Katie turned to contemplate Nathan. "Nope. Can't see it. I have a hard time even getting you out of your dorm on Friday nights."

"Trust me, that's not how it used to be," someone said behind them.

Nathan turned around, surprised. Tim stood there with his carry-on and rolling suitcase.

"Hey, man, what are you doing sneaking up on us like that?"

Tim grinned and shook his hand. "Sorry."

"Katie, this is my best friend Tim."

"Nice to meet you," Katie said.

Tim smiled. "You too."

"So you used to play with Nathan back in high school?"

"Play with him?" Tim looked shocked. "I practically carried his sorry behind through the championships."

Katie laughed and Nathan pretended to glare at him.

"So maybe you can give me all the good dirt on Nathan."

"The things I could tell you—" Tim started.

"Let's just get in the car before he starts spreading his lies," Nathan said, punching his friend.

Tim rubbed his arm and laughed. "Thanks for picking me up, man."

* * *

". . . and we were so damn drunk that Haley had to come out and drive us home."

Katie swirled the spaghetti on her fork and took a bite before talking. "You're kidding. Nathan managed to superglue basketballs to the guy's ceiling after drinking that much beer?"

"I don't know if he could have done it sober!"

Katie and Tim laughed while Nathan buried his face in one hand.

"If you're done destroying my reputation Tim . . ."

"I swear I thought that Justin's father was going to sue Dan for everything he had so he could get his living room renovated," Tim went on animatedly, "and Deb was so pissed that she wasn't even speaking to him except to threaten him with boot camp. But we were lucky because Haley took us down to the hardware store to get this solvent so we could get the balls down and she showed us how to repaint the ceiling as good as new."

"That was nice of her," Katie said.

"No, it wasn't," Nathan said with a smile. He exchanged a knowing look with Tim. "About three days later she told us that we deserved a break for working so hard and she drove us up to a cabin on a lake that her brother owned for the day."

"I don't understand, that seems—" Katie started.

"Wait for it," Tim said.

"Then she convinced us that an early morning swim would be great and she'd have a hot breakfast waiting for us when we got back. Tim and I go down—even though it's a little cold—and swim, but when we get back to the cabin, it's locked. The car Haley drove us up in is gone and so is all of our stuff. So there we are in our swimming trunks and flip-flops—"

"Freezing our parts off," Tim interjected.

"Freezing our parts off," Nathan agreed, "and with no idea what to do."

Katie burst into a fit of incredulous laughter. "She made you guys walk all the way home?"

Tim shook his head. "When we realized that she wasn't coming back we walked down to the local gas station about five miles down the road and she was there."

"She had hot coffee, cinnamon rolls, and blankets for us," Nathan shook his head and smiled to himself, remembering. "And she told us that the next time that we got drunk and did something stupid, she'd think of a more creative way to punish us."

"So that's why you're such a boy scout!" Katie laughed. "I bet that was the last time you ever stepped out of line."

"Oh, no," Tim shook his head, "That was the last time _I_ stepped out of line. This one—" he nodded at Nathan "—forced Haley to get more creative. I might have drunk more than I should have, but from then on, I was just along for the ride."

Katie narrowed her eyes at them both. "I believe you . . . but I still want this story verified. The next time Haley's in town you can bet I'm going ask her to confirm all this."

Nathan face didn't show anything but amusement, but Tim's smile became a little awkward.

"Trust me," Tim said, "it's all true."

* * *

Tim thought about all the meetings that his father wanted him to attend tomorrow and sighed to himself. His father was impressed with him for the first time in his life and that felt good, but he was treating him like he was already an employee. He was still only twenty-one, and as much as he liked what he was doing he still wanted more time to try other things. He shook off those thoughts and turned to his friend.

"Sorry about the game, Nate."

Nathan shrugged. "I'm just going to have to step it up next year."

"That's really . . . mature of you."

"_You_ think that I'm not mature?"

Tim just gave him a look. "Do I really need to remind you about what you used to do every single time we lost a game?"

Nathan flushed uncomfortably when he thought about the fights he used to get into with his teammates. "That was a long time ago."

Tim just smiled, pulled out the futon, and stretched before climbing into bed.

"So are you going to need a ride tomorrow?" Nathan asked, putting some plates into his sink.

"Ah, I thought I'd just catch a cab to my dad's office."

"I'm going to be driving around anyway, man. I can drop you off."

"Thanks. So . . . that was Katie."

"Yeah. Isn't she great?"

Tim nodded. "Uh-huh."

Nathan thought he heard something in Tim's voice. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Tim. What?"

"Nothing . . . it's just . . . nothing."

Nathan turned away and then turned back to Tim. "Why did you tell Katie that story about the cabin?"

"I don't know . . . she asked to hear about some of the stuff we used to do."

"I hadn't thought about that in a long time." Nathan smiled, remembering.

Tim nodded, but he didn't even think that Nathan was seeing him. There were things that he wanted to say, things that he wanted to ask, but Haley was married now and there was no point anymore.

"'Night."

"What?" Nathan looked up at him. "Oh . . . yeah. Goodnight."

* * *

Karen looked in the mirror, turning her head from side to side. She was getting ready to go out on a date with Adrian, a man that she'd been seeing, off and on, for eight years. Both of them had been burned in the past and what they had was nice, but it had never progressed to anything serious.

She didn't even really want to go out tonight but sitting in the house by herself was starting to drive her a little bit crazy.

The doorbell rang and when she answered the door Adrian greeted her with a kiss.

"Thanks for calling, I was wondering when I'd hear from you again. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Karen turned around to grab her purse and then froze. "On second thought, no. I don't want to go out."

Adrian looked baffled. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine." Karen walked forward, grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him in for another kiss.

When she let him come up for air he grinned. "I'm getting the feeling that I just wasted my money on those concert tickets I got us."

"You're right," Karen said as she pulled him into her bedroom.

* * *

Karen and Adrian sat across from each other the next morning, drinking coffee and eating breakfast.

"I was a little surprised when you called me," Adrian looked at Karen over the rim of his mug, "I thought that you might have started seeing someone else."

"No," Karen tilted her head, "have you?"

Adrian shook his head. "Listen, Karen, I know that in the past we've pretty much stayed out of each other's lives . . . but I'm not getting any younger."

"What are you saying?" She felt a little uneasy.

"Don't worry," Adrian said, "I'm not asking you to spring me on your family or anything. I just want to know if you're available this weekend."

"You want to do something on Saturday?" Karen asked. "That would be great. I—"

Not just one day, I mean the whole weekend. There's this wine tasting event my brother's hosting and there's going to be great food and good company."

"It sounds fun . . ." Karen trailed off, thinking hard. She and Adrian had been so casual for so long that she wasn't sure how she felt about changing the status quo. The people in her life knew his name and not much else, she'd compartmentalized her romantic life so completely that it was startling—even though she knew it was absurd—to think of meeting people in Adrian's family. With a faint sense of shame she realized that even though she'd been seeing him for years, she knew more about what was going on with Cooper than she did about her own sort-of boyfriend.

"I'm sorry about Lucas. I know that he's old enough to be able to handle me seeing someone. I'd like to take you as my date but he doesn't really know you and I don't want the first time you two meet to be—"

"Karen, you don't have to explain. I understand. I've always understood. I don't think I'd have been ready to meet him until recently either."

"I'd love to go."

Adrian looked surprised. "Really?"

"Do you really want me to?"

"Of course, I just thought that you'd turn me down."

"Well," Karen got up and leaned over Adrian's chair, kissing him, "you're very convincing."

Karen took the plates and put them in the kitchen sink while Adrian admired her from behind.

"Then maybe," he said, walking up behind her, "I can convince you to be late for work and come back to bed with me."

"No, I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Come on, what's the point of being your own boss if you can't take one morning off?"

Adrian pulled Karen back into her room with her protesting and laughing the entire way.

* * *

_June 7, 2014_

Haley stood there at the altar with Nathan, looking around the small, but lovely church. She didn't think that Brooke would actually go through with having a small wedding, but she had. The only people there were their little family: her, Nathan, Deb, Keith, and Karen. Nathan had brought Katie along and she sat next to Deb. Both women looked misty-eyed.

Nathan stood across from Haley, slightly amused that he was in a wedding with her, again. This time, though, he was proud and honored to be the best man. She looked beautiful, she always looked beautiful, but this time the feeling of suffocating pain wasn't there. He wasn't sure why, but he was grateful. He knew that he'd always love her, for who she was and everything she'd been to him, but now he could distance himself from it a little.

His mother had been right. Time and distance had given those emotional wounds time to heal over.

Brooke walked up the aisle on Keith's arm and Haley smiled at her. The only thing that Brooke had really splurged on was her dress and the clothes for the wedding party. The gown was completely traditional, snow white, with an impossibly long train. Haley, Deb, and Karen were wearing a cream-colored dresses that were deceptively simple, each dress was subtly different in order to complement each woman. Haley's dress skimmed her curves perfectly. She planned on finding at least ten other occasions to wear it because it was too beautiful to sit in a box forever.

Nathan, Lucas, and Keith were wearing matching suits, also cream-colored and expertly tailored.

Brooke reached Lucas, kissed Keith on the cheek and went to stand in front of her future husband as she handed Haley her bouquet.

The minister nodded to them both and said, "We are gathered here today to bless the union of Lucas Eugene Scott and Brooke Lenora Davis. Lucas and Brooke have decided that they wanted to write their own vows."

"Brooke," Lucas swallowed against the tears in his throat, "I thought that I'd be afraid to take this step, but as I walked in here today I realized that I was more afraid of not taking it with you. When I'm with you I feel like I can be the kind of man that I've always wanted to be. I thank you for that, and I love you."

Brooke didn't cry but her eyes were very bright. "Lucas, I knew that I wanted to marry you from the first moment that I saw you. I've gone through life running, and you're the first thing that ever made me slow down. You make me feel like I'm perfect, but I don't have to be perfect. You make me feel like I don't have to pretend or lie, or be anyone other than who I am, and you still love me."

"By the power vested in me," the priest said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Brooke and Lucas kissed. It went on for so long that the priest started to blush. Haley and Nathan just stared at them in amazement before starting to laugh.

They finally broke apart, looking a little sheepish, and walked back down the aisle together with Nathan and Haley following behind them.

Nathan felt Haley grip his arm hard and he looked down at her, there were tears falling from her eyes. He put one of his hands over hers and then looked back up at his brother.

When they got to the end of the aisle Brooke wrapped one arm around Haley and they both laughed and hugged.

"We did it!" Brooke said.

* * *

"When you said that you wanted to keep things short and sweet, you weren't kidding," Haley said. The wedding and reception had been over with in four hours. "I feel bad, though. I wanted to be able to do more for you."

Brooke shook her head. "No, this was perfect. If we really want something with all the frills, Lucas and I can do something horribly extravagant for our twentieth anniversary."

They were all at Deb's beach house, enjoying the air and eating.

Haley picked up her huge piece of cake and ate a forkful. Brooke wandered towards Deb who was speaking to Katie. Haley made her way inside and saw Lucas and Nathan sitting together; she walked over and sat between them on the couch.

Haley waved her fork at Lucas. "You've been married a whole five hours now. How does it feel Mr. Davis?"

"Incredible." Lucas grinned. "I feel like I'm just coming down off a high."

"That's because of the drugs I slipped in your water," Nathan said. "I knew that was the only way to get you to go through with it." Brooke slapped Nathan on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"What was that?" she demanded.

Lucas drew Brooke down into his lap. "He was just saying how lucky I am that you didn't pick some other guy."

Haley leaned over and shoved some cake in Nathan's mouth. "Less talking, more eating," she said.

Nathan chewed and swallowed. "All I'm saying is, my brother is embarking on a journey, a dangerous journey—"

Whatever Nathan had been going to say was lost when Haley took a handful of cake and pushed it into his face.

Brooke and Lucas laughed hard as Nathan jumped up and wiped the frosting off his eyes.

"What is up with you two?! Is this 'let's all get Nathan' day?"

Haley licked the buttercream frosting off her fingers. "I just thought you might want some more of this delicious cake."

"And you have officially made this the best day of my life," Brooke said as she hugged Haley.

Katie looked over at them and laughed in amazement, touching Deb's arm so she could see her son.

Nathan took out his handkerchief, wiped off his face, and glared at Haley. She grinned at him; she could tell that he really wanted to laugh but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction. The playful light in his eyes said that he wanted to get her back, maybe by tossing her over his shoulder and throwing her into the water—he'd actually done that to her once when he had had enough of her teasing—but he just sat back down.

* * *

After everything wound down Haley saw Lucas sitting by himself outside and went out to join him. They just sat in silence for a moment before she turned to smile at him.

"Can you believe that we're married people now?"

"A part of me feels like I never left high school." Lucas picked up and handful of sand and let it trickle through his fingers. "I actually wasn't sure that I'd ever get married, my mom hasn't yet."

"You never know, she might find someone. Hasn't she been seeing someone?"

Lucas shrugged. "I think so. She never talks about it with me much. You know, I don't even think if she wants to. Dan really hurt her."

"Even if she doesn't get married, I hope she has a chance to be with someone that she really wants."

Lucas nodded. "What happened to Mark?"

"Oh, he couldn't come, he's been working himself to the bone trying to get this firm off the ground."

"He couldn't fly down for one day?"

"You don't know how cutthroat the accounting business is in that city. I had no idea that underneath the custom suit and calculator lays the heart of a fierce beast."

Lucas laughed. "Sounds dangerous."

"Oh, it is." Haley leaned back against the log. "His mother's been showing me how to strategically plan dinner parties and get-togethers. It's all very fascinating."

"Well," Lucas stood up, "come on, Hales. Before you go back onto the battlefield, have some more cake."

* * *

Lucas laid next to Brooke on the most luxurious cotton sheets that he'd ever felt. He planned on taking his new wife to some exotic location for their honeymoon like Hawaii or Spain, but all she'd wanted to do was to stay in a hotel for a week. It was the most expensive hotel in all of North Carolina, but still, he'd expected her to want something more extravagant.

Brooke giggled and turned to look at him. "Do you think you might want to actually leave the room today?"

"Why?" Lucas put an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "We have room service, we have this bed, and we don't have to be anywhere or do anything for at least three more days."

"I guess we could try to get started on the next branch of the family tree."

Lucas blinked with surprise. "Don't you think that it's a little soon to be thinking about having children? We haven't even been married for a week. Maybe we should wait until we finish off the leftover wedding cake."

"Yeah, but . . . we've been together for five years. We talked about starting a family soon."

"I know it's a little selfish, but I'd like to have you to myself for a while before we start making more people."

"Is that right?" Brooke said, moving so that she was straddling him.

"Yeah," Lucas gasped.

"Well," Brooke pulled her sheer nightgown over her head and tossed it to the side, "I would hate for you to think that you can't have me all to yourself."

* * *

Karen put down a plate in front of Keith and smiled as he pretended to pay homage to the food before picking up his fork.

He'd stopped by after hours and she was grateful that she didn't have to eat by herself. After they finished their meal, Karen invited Keith to stay and keep her company. She was surprised at how lonely she was. Haley was back in New York now, and even though she called often it wasn't the same.

When she'd helped plan Haley's wedding she was here so often that it was like having her back but now her life was in another state. And her son was officially a part of his own family. She hadn't expected to feel so . . . left behind. Trust Keith to see that and come over to help her through it.

"Karen."

"Hmm?" Her eyes rose from the book she was reading.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to this new restaurant that opened up on the riverfront, I've heard they have great food."

"Sure, I always like to size up the competition. Why don't I call Deb, I bet she'd love to go too."

"No, Karen . . . I was wondering if you wanted to go there with me."

"What, like on a date?" Karen smiled but it dimmed slightly when Keith didn't laugh.

"Yes, like a date."

"Keith . . . maybe we can do that later? I know that Deb's been feeling a little abandoned herself, Nathan's not coming down nearly as much as he used to."

Keith stayed silent for a few moments before finally saying, "Sure."

* * *

"Are you ready to go?" Katie walked into Nathan's apartment with her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. "I haven't really packed yet, but it'll only take me a minute since we're only going to be there for two days."

"Katie, I've been trying to call you. I can't make it back home this weekend."

"What?" She looked at him in shock. "But your mother is expecting us."

"I'm really sorry, I thought I'd be able to get away, but there's practice . . ."

"Some of the other players are taking some time off—"

"Some of the other players don't want a championship as badly as I do."

"Nathan . . . I rearranged my entire schedule for this."

He didn't apologize a third time, but he did sigh deeply. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. Besides, don't you have a lot of work to do anyway?"

Katie glared at her boyfriend. She used to find it comforting that Nathan had such a mild disposition, but now she really wished that he would show some temper so she could shout at him without feeling like an unreasonable harpy. It was madness, but she wanted a fight and his state of perpetual calm and tranquility made it nearly impossible. And the longer they were together the more serene he became.

She'd tried to explain some time ago how much this bothered her to Nina, her sister, and all she'd gotten was an incredulous look.

"You want to fight?" Nina had said with a roll of her eyes. "Take my boyfriend, all we do all the goddamn time is argue. It's freakin' great."

Katie had turned to her best friend with a pleading look on her face, hoping she could find the words she couldn't.

Olivia looked back at her, hesitating before speaking. "I think I get it," she said slowly, "you're excited by seeing a guy get angry with you?"

"No!" Katie threw up her hands with exasperation. "But it's like . . . everything I want to do, we do. He just goes along with it."

"What a nightmare," Nina had said dryly. She stood up and took her phone out of her pocket, checking it to see if her boyfriend had called or left any messages. He hadn't. "Listen, come talk to me when you have an actual problem."

She had given up then, knowing that it was no use.

Katie glared into Nathan's eyes. "I was really looking forward to this," she said, trying to prevent let the edge in her voice from becoming too sharp. "Maybe next time you'll give me a little more notice before you cancel."

"I will, I promise." Nathan hated to do this to Katie, he really did, but he just couldn't go back to Tree Hill. Right now he had to focus on basketball.

* * *

_August 24, 2014_

When Brooke picked up her ringing phone she was surprised to hear Deb's voice on the other end. "Hey, I thought that you'd be at the airport by now."

"No," Deb said, "Nathan just called and told me that he won't be able to make it. He'd like for me to come up and visit him," Deb's voice lightened when she told Brooke about her son's invitation, but her tone became disappointed as she continued, "but I'm right in the middle of drawing up the grant requests for the Mendota charity."

"Did Nathan say why he couldn't come?"

"Something to do with some Katie and an important event. I wasn't really paying that much attention after he said he wasn't coming." Deb was almost apologetic.

"Sorry, Deb."

"It's not a big deal," Deb said brightly.

"Sure," Brooke said, not believing her for one minute. She was still far enough in the loop to know that there was a huge party on the Duke campus over the weekend. And she also knew for a fact that Katie was going to be holed up at the library for at least another week working on a major paper for herart theory class but she had been planning on coming down to Tree Hill for the weekend with her laptop in tow. She supposed Nathan had no idea that she and Katie had been calling each other on and off since the last time they'd met.

None of that knowledge was reflected in her voice when she spoke to Deb. "I'm sure that once things cool down he'll be down here bugging you until you can't wait for him to leave again.

"That would be very nice." She'd only seen Nathan once since Brooke and Lucas' wedding—even though he called all the time. She'd been hoping that he'd visit since summer was almost over and once class started he'd be busy again.

They chatted for a little while before Deb had to get back to work.

Katie hadn't said anything explicitly but she got the impression that things weren't as perfect as she said they were. She went on and on about how nice and supportive Nathan was about everything. Brooke snorted to herself. There were only two things that made a man act like that: wanting to get laid and guilt. Knowing how crazy Katie was over her boyfriend she was damn sure that it wasn't the former, so what did Nathan have to feel guilty about? Something was going on, maybe, but she had no idea what it was. She and Lucas had seen even less of him than Deb had lately.

And this last minute cancellation was becoming typical of him—when was Nathan going to grow up? Brooke wondered. Sometimes she thought that Lucas and Haley were too willing to excuse his behavior. Maybe they didn't recognize it, but she'd seen it before.

She'd dated guys involved in one sport or another and even the ones who were pretty decent changed because the pressure they felt to win always turned them into assholes. Most of the time. Lucas was definitely an exception, but he'd never really planned on playing professionally—even before he'd been injured. As much as he loved basketball, he loved academics more. That's what had really attracted him to her; after they'd gone on a couple dates she'd expected him to take her to a game but instead they'd spent the day at a poetry reading.

If she was honest, it hadn't done much for her. Most of the language was above her head but what she had liked was watching Lucas' face as the reader spoke. He'd looked so focused and interested in what they were hearing that she gained a new appreciation for literature through him.

She'd seen time and time again (in her own experience and second-hand) how players pulled away from the people that they knew—even family—and were drawn deeper into the world of sycophants and fame-hungry people.

But if that was the road Nathan was going down—and she thought it might be—there were some things that just didn't make sense. His having a steady girlfriend, for one. But she'd only met her twice and since then . . . nothing. Nathan seemed to have a separate life in Durham and she knew Luke was a little worried—but he just brushed off her concerns. He was convinced that Nathan was just asserting his independence.

"He's never really been on his own," Lucas had explained. "I've always been around, and if I wasn't he had his mom or Haley. I think this is the first time in his entire life that he's lived in a city without any family there."

"He doesn't come down as often as he used to. When was the last time you guys played a game?"

"I never thought I'd see the day when _you_ would be concerned about Nathan not spending enough time here. Aren't you the one who's always pushing him out the door?"

"And what about Katie? He says that he's still seeing her but do we really know if they're really together?"

"Of course they're together."

"Maybe he's just telling us they are so we won't know about all the womanizing he's doing up there."

"Nathan is not a womanizer." Lucas was getting a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry. I know he's your little brother but even you have to notice that he's . . ." Brooke thought hard. "Something's different."

"You worry too much."

She would have liked to talk to Haley, or even maybe Deb or Karen, but she felt awkward about bringing it up. She wasn't sure what she'd say about it anyway, she didn't know Nathan as well or for as a long as they had. And the kicker of it was that the only reason she was concerned about his behavior was because she could see that Haley and Lucas both noticed it. They didn't seem worried, exactly, so maybe she really was being too nosy.

* * *

Haley sat in her apartment, enjoying the incredible view, and sighed. New York was beautiful and she really did love the city, but she wished that she had more time to enjoy it. She hadn't counted on all the things that were involved in being the wife of a very busy man. They had dinner parties, lunch meetings, plays, and charity events to attend almost five times a week. At first it had been exciting but it was just getting exhausting. It would be better if she felt like the people they were meeting were actually interested in having a conversation but most of them were only there to see others or to be seen.

Mark was very committed to what his parents wanted and she admired that, she really did. But sometimes she got tired of feeling like they had to jump whenever they called.

The few times she'd tried to bring this up with Mark they'd always ended up arguing. It wasn't something that she was used to, they rarely even got annoyed with each other—a fight was something so out of the ordinary that she always felt off-balance for days. She knew that he felt the same way.

Haley stood up and walked into the kitchen. Mark had hired a chef for a very important dinner they were having with one of his father's younger clients. Haley shook her head. She loved to cook but she'd hardly done it since they'd arrived here.

Haley watched the chef rush back and forth and when he looked up she smiled at him.

"Do you need any help?" Haley asked.

"No, thank you ma'am. Can I get you something? I could whip up some lunch if you want."

"No, I'm fine. I'll get out of your way."

Haley walked out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom.

* * *

"So I've been thinking about transferring my credits over to Columbia so I can finally get my masters."

Haley sat back on her sofa, sipping wine and relaxing now that their guests had gone.

"That sounds great," Mark said. "It's just . . . I really need your help. Just for a little while longer."

"Can't you hire someone?"

Mark took a deep breath. "Haley, I've been meaning to tell you something but I just didn't know how."

"What?"

"We're in some trouble, my father thought that he'd be able to bring in some accounts that just didn't pan out so right now we're staying afloat with money that's been loaned to us."

"How bad is it?" Haley asked incredulously.

"Bad enough that we have to worry, but not so bad that we should panic."

"If we're that short on cash what are we doing living in this ridiculously expensive loft and driving a Porsche?"

"If our potential clients get wind of us selling off property or assets it's going to make it impossible for us to do business with them. No one wants to deal with an accounting firm that can't maintain it's own cash flow."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

"Mark . . . I want to help you, but I'm not sure what I can do."

"It's a lot of secretarial work and event planning."

Mark sounded so apologetic that Haley didn't feel annoyed, but she was concerned.

"I'll help out any way I can, but Mark, we should have some kind of plan if this doesn't work out."

"I know, I just . . . my father has so much tied up in this. I don't want to disappoint him."

Haley nodded and sighed to herself. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

* * *

Lucas looked up as his wife walked in the door. His _wife_—he still wasn't quite used to thinking about her that way, even though they had been married for four months.

Brooke came over and kissed him, her lips were still slightly cold from being outside.

"Hey you."

"Hey." Lucas watched as she hung up her coat. "Brooke, I have an idea and I want to run it by you."

She looked up at him and then sat down at the table. "Sounds serious."

"It is, a little." Lucas took a breath. "I'm thinking about leaving my job."

Brooke's eyebrows rose a little with surprise. "I thought you liked your job."

Being an editor was okay, but Lucas didn't feel very challenged by it. Things at the newspaper would run smoothly no matter what he did.

"It's not bad, but, I don't know, I want to do more."

"Like?" Brooke listened carefully.

"I want to open up a small tutoring center."

Brooke looked really surprised. "Like a school?"

"No, it'd be a place where parents can send their kids if they need help with their homework," Lucas' voice became excited, "we could even offer classes in literature, have book club meetings, and really try to encourage their literary interests."

Brooke grinned. "Well, if you could get me to sit through a poetry reading I think that anything's possible."

"You think it's a good idea?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Brooke enthused.

Lucas sighed with relief. "Really?"

Brooke got up so she could sit on his lap. She straddled him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him breathless.

"You really do." He grinned up at her.

"Of course."

"You don't have to worry about money," Lucas put his hands on Brooke's waist and pulled her closer, "I'll keep working until I have enough saved—"

"Don't you dare. You'll quit tomorrow."

"Brooke!"

"Business at Vistas is good, really good, we might have to cut back a little on some things—"

"No," Lucas said firmly, his sensible side reasserting itself. "I have a truckload of planning I still need to do and there's no point in quitting my job when I can do both. And I don't want to put off buying a house." He glanced around the duplex they were renting. "This place isn't bad but I'm a little tired of listening to our neighbors fight over who's supposed to be responsible for their checkbook."

Brooke shuddered. "Mr. and Mrs. Bolonski are going to kill each other one of these days, I'm calling it now."

"And I want to have some savings to fall back on before I try to make this work."

Brooke ran her hands down his chest. "Okay, Responsible One. But as soon as we can, we're going to get started on making your idea a reality. Is that clear?"

Lucas' eyes were warm. "I love you."

* * *

Haley looked over the business plan that Lucas had emailed her and shook her head.

"Lucas, this is great."

"I'm glad you think so," she could tell that Lucas was relieved, even over the phone. "Brooke keeps telling me that it is, but she's so supportive I think she'd say that no matter what I did."

"Well, I have no feelings for you whatsoever so you can believe me when I say I think this is awesome."

"Thanks, Hales. Just think, by this time next year I might be Tutor Man."

Haley groaned. "Is that what you're going to call your business? If so I take back all the nice things I said."

"Of course not. I'm just having some trouble thinking of a name."

"Yes," Haley glanced down at the paper she'd printed out, "'Place where kids come and have fun learning' is very descriptive but hard to fit on a business card."

"Don't tease me, naming things isn't my talent."

"I can see that."

"I gotta run."

After her friend hung up, Haley studied the paper again, a wry smile on her face. What he'd talked about sounded like something she would do. After all she had been dubbed, courtesy of Brooke, Tutor Girl.

The truth was she wasn't sure what she wanted, even though she'd talked about going back to college. She'd been so caught up with Mark and his business that she hadn't really thought about what she'd do after he finally got the firm on its feet.

Haley picked herself up and went to the kitchen to pull out the lasagna she'd made to take over to her brother's house. Both Matt and Barb were a little clueless about cooking so when she'd offered to make something they'd both sighed with relief.

She was feeling a little lonely without Mark, he'd flown out to Houston for some negotiations and she hadn't been needed, so she was treating the next five days as a mini-vacation. She'd actually have time to spend with her brother where she wasn't running to or from something. She was sure Matt would be thrilled, he'd started dropping not-so-subtle hints that she hadn't been coming around often enough.

* * *

_September 12, 2014_

Matt looked over at his sister and frowned when he saw her glance at her watch.

"Will you stop looking so anxious? I'm sure that Mark can make it without you for a few more hours."

Haley grinned at her brother. "Now that he's back I'm meeting him later and I don't want to be late. Besides who are you to talk? Didn't you spend two hours looking for a tie that your wife found in two minutes?"

"I'm sure he would have found it own his own . . . eventually," Barb murmured. She wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, she hadn't eaten all day and she was starving.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Matt said before turning back to his sister. "You need some time off, anyway. You spent more time with us last week than you have in a year and it's been great—"

"Because I was doing all the cooking," Haley said.

"But once Mark got back into town you disappeared again."

"What? I'm right here Matt."

"You're obviously thinking about whatever project it is he has you running yourself ragged for."

"Where is this coming from?" Haley said. "You know that Mark's been working really hard, I'm just helping him out."

"What about school?"

"I'll be going back soon, when we get the business on its feet."

"Soon can become never if you're not careful. Mark's being a little demanding, don't you think?"

"Matt," Barb said warningly. She was concerned about Haley, too, but her husband seemed to have taken all that worry and channeled it into a growing dislike for Mark.

"I don't think that Mark's being any more demanding than you've been," Haley said, frowning.

"What are you talking about?" Matt looked taken aback.

"Your dream is to be an actor, and Barb's supporting you."

Matt glared at Haley. "What are you trying to say?"

"That's enough," Barb said, a sudden stomachache making her voice sharper than she intended.

"Sorry, Barb." Haley looked chagrined.

"Sorry, hon." Matt's expression was even more embarrassed.

"Matt, butt out of Haley's business. Haley, your brother and I worked our issues about his career out a long time ago—"

"I'm really sorry, B," Haley's tone was apologetic, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's all right."

Barb excused herself to go to the bathroom and Haley and Matt turned to each other.

"Hales . . . look, it's not that I don't like Mark. I just don't want you to put what you want to do on hold for him."

"Thanks, but you don't have to worry, Mark knows what I want to do and he's been really supportive, but right now his business needs to be our focus. There's so much tied up in it."

Matt opened his mouth to reply and then left it open as he watched his wife walk slowly back to the table with her coat on.

"What are you doing, babe? We haven't even ordered yet."

"I think I'm having the baby," Barb said calmly.

* * *

Matt looked scared to death; Haley felt guilty about wanting to laugh at him. After sitting in frozen shock for a minute, Matt exploded into action. He practically threw himself in front of a cab to flag it down, scaring Haley and Barb to death.

They all climbed inside, to find that they'd been unlucky enough to end up in the cab of the slowest driver in New York. Luckily the hospital had been close.

Haley handed her brother a cup of coffee and gave him a supportive smile.

"Barb's doing great. Don't worry, everything's fine."

"You really think so, Haley?"

She wasn't used to seeing her brother like this, he was usually so self-possessed. Where had that guy gone?

"Of course."

"She's doing better than I am." Matt ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Thanks for staying, Hales."

"Please, like I'd go anywhere when my new little niece or nephew is about to pop into the world. Are you ready to get back in it?"

Matt nodded. Haley grabbed his hand, pulled him out of his chair, and they walked back into the birthing room together

* * *

Haley walked into her apartment and dropped her purse and coat on the sofa before falling into it herself. Finally, at three in the morning, Barb had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. It had been the most amazing thing. It was only afterwards that she realized that she'd completely forgotten to call Mark in all the chaos.

Haley slumped back in a chair in the lobby. She felt like she was coming down from a high. She'd been right there when Matt and Barb had delivered their child. And their baby . . . was one of the weirdest looking things she'd ever seen, but somehow still adorable.

"Are you okay? Where were you?"

Haley sat up, turned around, and saw Mark with a very angry look on his face.

"I was with Matt, he—"

"I just had to explain to Kenneth Ludrow why my wife was a no-show for dinner!"

"Was that tonight?" Haley rubbed her forehead. Damn it, now she remembered. Mark had arranged a meeting with some prominent executive.

"Haley, you knew how important this was for me, if you couldn't come the least you could have done was give me a call."

"I sorry, I meant to, but things got so crazy tonight, I—"

"My entire family is depending on this man to give us his business—"

"Can you shut up for five seconds and let me talk?" Haley snapped. "Barb went into labor tonight. She and my brother had a boy. I'm sure you're very happy for all of us."

Haley jumped up and stalked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

* * *

Things had been strained between Mark and Haley over the past week, they were still both tiptoeing around each other. When she got home after visiting her newest family member she was slightly disappointed that Mark was there, she could hear him in the kitchen. She'd hoped for some time to just be by herself and relax.

"How's Barb doing?" Mark asked.

"She's fine," Haley said without turning around.

Mark hesitated. "I'm sorry. I should have given you a chance to explain."

"Yeah," Haley stood up, "you should have."

"Look, of course I'm happy for your brother. And I'm really glad that Barb and the baby are okay, but I don't think you understand how important this business is to me."

"You're right," she turned to face him, "I don't. It's just a business, Mark. And you should know by now that with me family comes first. I really don't give a damn who you were having dinner with, there's no way I'd be sitting there eating a thirty dollar steak while they're at the hospital."

Frustration made Mark's voice sharp. "I'm not saying that you should think that the business is more important, it's just that sometimes we need to balance out—"

"I'm really tired. Can we talk about this some other time?" Haley didn't wait for him to reply before walking upstairs.

"Fine," Mark said to the empty room.

* * *

As soon as Jimmy and Lydia had heard that Barb had delivered they got on the road and were in New York in record time.

Lydia looked like she'd never let her grandson go. She gently rocked him and kissed his cheek softly.

Jimmy put an arm around his son's shoulders. "How are you doing?"

Matt just gave his father a bewildered look and Jimmy laughed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Just imagine doing this five more times."

"No way." Matt shook his head. "Barb and I have talked about this and Zach is going to be an only child."

"You say that now," Haley said, "but when you see what a good baby he is you'll change your mind." She put her index finger in Zach's tiny fist and smiled when her new nephew gripped it hard.

Barb's still tired voice came from the hospital bed. "Oh, no he won't. And even he did, I won't, and the only opinion that really matters is mine."

"That's right, honey." Matt kissed his wife gently on the head.

Jimmy pulled his son over to the side and they watched the women in their family fuss over the latest addition.

Jimmy opened his mouth but Matt shook his head at his father. "Don't, Dad. I already know what you're going to say."

"Listen," Jimmy said in a low voice, "Maybe you should consider letting me make a few calls and getting you a job. Something temporary until you can get on your feet."

"Barb and I have been planning for this for a while and we have enough for the baby, I worked hard over the last few months building up our savings."

"That's good, son, but what about the long term? Health insurance and emergency expenses?"

"Barb and I have already worked things out, okay? There's nothing to worry about." Jimmy was about to add something when his son interrupted him. "We're good," Matt said with a slight snap to his voice.

"I was just going to congratulate you," Jimmy said mildly.

"And ask me to marry Barb, right?"

"No. I'm just happy to have a healthy grandson."

"Barb and I are happy with things the way that they are. We're committed to each other, we have baby, and we're fine." Matt said, a tad defensive.

Jimmy just made a placating gesture and left his son's side to join his wife.

* * *

Mark rode the elevator up, nearly falling asleep as he leaned against the wall. He only had maybe two hours free before he had to drive home and get some rest for the ordeal tomorrow. Another business lunch in an endless parade of meet-and-greets. He was getting sick of wearing a suit and trying to charm clients, but it had to be done.

He knocked softly on the door and entered when he heard a voice say, "Come in."

Barb was alone in the room and Mark handed over the flowers he'd bought her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, Mark, these are beautiful."

"You look great," he said warmly, "I can't even believe that you had a baby last week."

"Thanks."

"Where is everyone?"

"I sent them on a glorified scavenger hunt."

"What?"

"I asked Lydia and Jimmy to go to our apartment to get me a change of clothes, I sent Haley to the bakery for some brownies, and I sent Matt to pick up some Chinese. I love him and I love his family but there are times when I just need a break!"

"I was going to stop by Lowell's and get some chocolate chip cookies. Do you want me to pick some up for you?"

Barb grinned. "More food? Do I look that hungry?"

"It's been my experience that everyone could always use more cookies."

"No, I think I'm fine."

"Okay. It's just as well, I got so turned around coming here that I'm not sure where the place is."

You should ask Haley's twin," Barb said. "He knows the area better than anyone I know."

"Haley's twin?" Mark asked.

"Oh, that's what Lydia started calling Matt when he and Haley were younger because everyone kept asking if they were twins."

Mark laughed. "If you don't need anything I'll step out and let you have your alone time."

"No, it's fine. It's just that the phone has not stopped ringing once since Zach was born."

"So is the entire clan going to come down and take over New York?"

"I think that Taylor and Jen might visit soon, but everyone else is so busy right now. I can't wait to get out of this hospital, though."

"You deserve to take it easy for while, don't rush yourself."

Barb grinned. "Do you have any idea what it's costing us to stay here? The budget Mark and I have has no wiggle room whatsoever. I'd leave tonight if I could."

Mark nodded. "So what's the baby's official name?"

"Zachery Andrew James."

"Great name." Mark glanced around the room. "Where is he?"

"Downstairs, they'll be bringing him up in an hour."

"I'm really sorry, Barb, I can't stay that long. Do you mind if I go down and visit him?"

"Of course not."

* * *

Matt walked up the hallway with a paper bag full of Kung Pao Chicken and Pork Mei Fun. He saw Mark gazing at his son through the glass and smiled at him when he looked up.

"He's a great-looking kid."

"I know," Matt said proudly.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't come down to see him sooner, but work—"

"Don't even worry about it, if I know anything, its how work can eat up your time."

"Speaking of, Haley told me that you're between jobs, and we could definitely use more help around the office if you're interested. We've got great benefits."

Matt stiffened. "No, thanks."

"Are you sure? Haley would love to see more of you but we're at the office so much—"

"I don't need your help to support my family," Matt snapped.

Mark stared at his brother-in-law. "I never said that you did."

"Please. Like you weren't wondering how an out-of-work actor is supposed to support his wife and kid?"

"I didn't know that—" _you and Barb were married_. Even though Mark cut himself off, both men realized what he was going to say. Mark cleared his throat. "The thought had crossed my mind, but I assumed that you have everything under control. I'm sure Jimmy and Lydia are a huge help."

"Yeah, and if they don't have enough spare cash at least I've got a sister that married rich, right?"

Mark wasn't sure how it had happened but he realized that nothing he was saying was making the situation any better. "Forget it."

"You know—" Matt started.

"If you think you're doing enough, I suppose everyone's just going to have to be satisfied with that," Mark snapped. He had no patience left after the day he'd had. "Tell Barb I said goodbye."

Mark stalked off before Matt could say anything more. He might have stood there longer, but he realized that the food was getting cold. He gave one last loving look at his baby before leaving himself.

* * *

"Honey, did you have to have food from that specific restaurant? I passed like six Chinese places on the way there."

"Sorry, I just had the strongest craving." Barb smiled sweetly at him. "Did you run into Mark on the way up?"

"Yeah," Matt said, his tone lowering the temperature by a few degrees.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just . . . beginning to be sorry that Haley married that jackass."

Barb looked shocked. "How can you say that?"

Matt repeated the conversation he'd had with Mark, and Barb just looked at him narrowly.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

"Look, Haley's told me about how he talks to his brother and it's the exact same thing. He thinks anyone not working for corporate America is wasting their time."

". . . I think he's just trying to be nice. I mean, we were talking about how ridiculous our hospital bill is going to be and my insurance isn't going to cover all of it—"

"Did you ask him to offer me a job?" Matt asked incredulously.

Barb rolled her eyes and didn't say anything.

"Did you?"

"Matt!" Barb snapped. "I just had a baby! After hours of labor I am in no mood for another fight!"

His face fell. "Oh, God . . . I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I don't know what got into me, this should be the happiest day of our lives and I'm acting like such a—"

"It's okay." Barb relented. "You're just scared. So am I, because it's real now. We have a baby and it's wonderful . . . but I don't think I've ever been this afraid of screwing up."

Matt put his arms around her and held her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Barb . . . would you marry me?"

She pulled away with surprise. "Has your father been talking to you?"

"No. I just . . . I love you and I know I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Plus, now we have this new, small, bald person."

Barb laughed. "But why now?"

"I'd like to make it official."

Barb thought for a long moment. "Let's talk about this more after we get Baldy home, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Tell your sister that we said congratulations, Hales." Brooke listened to Haley's reply with a smile and then hung up. "Can you believe it? A baby boy."

"I'm really happy for Matt." Lucas sat back in his chair with a grin.

"Yeah." Brooke sat down across from him, feeling a little anxious and staring down at her plate. She pushed her food around with her fork, her appetite suddenly gone.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"It makes me wonder when we're going to have one. When we're going to get started on making a family."

Lucas's smile faded and he reached for Brooke's hand. "We _are_ a family."

"You know what I mean."

"Brooke, come on, we're both busy right now. Don't you think we should wait?"

"No, I don't. I want to start planning for a baby."

When Lucas remained silent she continued. "I've been thinking that maybe we should go see a doctor, you know, get a check up to make sure that we're both healthy."

Lucas frowned. "A doctor? Brooke, there's nothing wrong with either of us."

"I'm not saying that there is," Brooke tried to keep a lid on her rising frustration. "But I just want to be sure—"

"If that's what you want it will happen in its own time, we don't need to see a doctor, not yet."

"What are you talking about? We discussed this, I said that I wanted to start trying to get pregnant soon, and what do you mean if that's what I want? Don't you want a child?"

"I just want whatever makes you happy."

"Will you stop with that? I had a father that had a baby to make his wife happy and that's not what I want for my kid!" Brooke couldn't keep still and stood up so she could pace.

"If you don't think I'd be a good father why the hell do you want to have a baby with me!" Lucas exploded.

"I have no fucking clue!" Brooke shouted.

"Maybe you could—" Lucas cut himself off.

"What? What?" Brooke pushed Lucas. "Don't stop now, have the balls to say what you want to say!"

"Maybe you could go find Chase**,** I'm sure he'd be more than happy to get you pregnant!"

"Go to hell," Brooke said coldly. "At least my ex had the decency to make sure I knew where he really stood when I talked to him about starting a family."

"I'm not ready Brooke," Lucas said, making a sincere effort not to shout.

"Have I been talking to myself for all this time? What do you mean you're not ready? We both have good jobs and we just got this huge house! What the hell did we buy it for if you're not ready?!"

"I just don't see why we have to be in such a rush. I'm going to be leaving my job soon, don't you want to wait until we're really prepared to have a child?"

Brooke glared at him for a long time. "Fine," she said, and left the room.

* * *

_November 17, 2014_

Haley sipped the drink in her hand and earnestly wished that she was spending the night with her adorable nephew. Even though Zach was only two months old, she could swear that he knew who she was. He was already smiling at her.

"The party is lovely, Haley," Diane said.

"What? Oh, thanks." Haley focused on the present with an effort.

"I was a little surprised that you went with a different appetizer than the one I suggested."

"I thought that if we're having this thing after these people had a long day's work then they'll probably be hungry and need something a little more substantial than cucumber sandwiches."

Mark's mother nodded and glanced around the room. He eyes rested on her husband, who was sitting down with an executive from a rival firm.

"Are you all right?" Haley put her hand on Diane's arm. "You seem a little on edge."

"I'm just tired. And I guess I'm nervous for Mark, this is kind of like his debut into the business world and every thing has to be perfect."

Just then the man in question came up behind them, kissed his mother on the cheek and took Haley's arm.

"Thank you," he said. "Everything's going great."

"Oh, you know," Haley said with fake nonchalance, "I just threw this shindig together at the last minute."

Mark laughed. Haley had been in the middle of all the planning for weeks.

* * *

When the door finally closed behind the last guest, Haley groaned and kicked off her heels. Rubbing her cheeks, which were sore from all the fake smiling she'd done all night, she made her way back into the living room and sat down. The sofa chairs were ridiculously comfortable, Diane had impeccable taste, but right now she was too tired to appreciate her home.

Mark found a seat next to her and laughed tiredly.

"So?" Haley asked. "How did it go?"

"Great, I think. Everyone seemed impressed."

"Where are your parents?"

"Probably going over everything that was said, everything that wasn't said, the subtext of—"

Haley cut him off. "The only thing I'm going to be talking to for the next ten hours is my pillow. Are you ready to go home?"

"How tired are you?" Mark asked with a smile.

"You have a window of about forty-five minutes before I pass the point of no return. You get me home before then and I'll do anything you want."

Mark leaned over her chair, his eyebrows raised. "Anything?"

"As long as I can stay in bed, anything."

He kissed her quickly. "Get your coat, I'll just run up and say goodbye."

Haley slipped her shoes back on and walked to the door. After a while she glanced up the stairs, wondering what was taking Mark so long. She was about to follow him to see what the delay was about when Diane ran downstairs, looking more frightened than she'd ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" Haley gasped.

"Haley, God, call an ambulance! Paul's having a heart attack!"

* * *

Haley sat in the waiting room with Mark with her arm around him and her chin resting on his shoulder. Diane sat next to Parker, her face grey from worry. Periodically her eyes would flicker to the doors that the doctor had come through two hours ago to give them an update on Paul's condition. Dominick stood with his arms folded, staring out the window at the abysmal weather.

Haley rubbed Mark's back. "Can you tell me what happened?" She still wasn't sure what had gone on after making that frantic phone call.

"Dad just finished up a conference call, then Dominick and Mom broke out the champagne because it went well," the corner of Mark's mouth lifted with a ghost of a smile, "then Dad said he wasn't feeling well so he went up to the bedroom. I was a little worried so I went to check up on him a little while later and I found him in there on the floor he was . . ." Mark gritted his teeth and paused before going on. "He looked terrible; holding his arm and breathing hard. I told someone to call 9-1-1 . . . everything's a blur after that."

"He's going to be fine," Haley said firmly.

"He's just been pushing himself so hard . . ." Mark said as if he was still dazed. "But I didn't think . . ."

The doctor came through the doors and they all stood up. Haley saw his smile and relaxed.

"He's going to be fine," he said.

Mark's mother sobbed once and put her hand over her mouth as Parker hugged her hard.

"Your husband is extremely lucky Mrs. Fowell, he had a minor heart attack. It wasn't a complete blockage and we were able to remove it fairly easily."

"Minor?" The look on Diane's face reflected her thoughts. This ordeal had been anything but "minor."

"He's going to make a full recovery but he has to take better care of himself. We'll talk more about that later."

"Can we see him, doctor?" Parker asked impatiently.

"Of course. But not all at once, please."

Mark looked at Haley and she pushed him forward gently. "Go on."

The Fowells disappeared behind the doors and Haley sat down with a sigh of relief and looked over at Dominick. He hadn't said a word but he definitely looked relieved.

"How lucky are we?" Haley said.

Dominick nodded. "The old man gets on my nerves all the time, but I definitely wouldn't wish this on him."

Haley smiled and tried to think of something else to say to Paul's chief financial officer. She'd never spent much time around Dominick outside of business dinners and when she was at the office. The only thing she really knew about him was that he was frighteningly competent, Mark often said that he was worth his weight in gold.

He stretched a bit before grabbing his coat. "Can you tell the boys that I'm happy for them?"

"Don't you want to stay and see Paul?"

"Now that I know he's going to be okay, I have to make sure that the business is going to be okay. Money waits for no one, not even people who have heart attacks."

"Okay." Haley tried to muster up a smile and failed.

"Tell Mark I'll call him later." Dominick patted Haley on the arm kindly and left the room.


End file.
